Multiverse: Final Level
by MinecraftFan11Scratch
Summary: After the catalysmic events of Multiverse: Infinity War, one half of the universe is under Zalgo's control while the other is trembling in fear and trying to find a way to fix it all. However, the old Multiverse Initiative members are not done, and if they couldn't protect the multiverse, they'll make sure as hell to avenge it.
1. TRAILER

_NiGHTS is inside the ship of the Amazons of the Galaxy, but without proper lights, as darkness and a cyan light takes over the scene. She lays her back agains't the metal and sighs._

"Owl? And...Helen, Will...if you two are there?...If you found out this crystal here...don't feel too bad about this. Eventually, a journey ends. Just saying, being a traveler in space without any chance of being saved sounds a lot funnier than you expect. The other two ran out of food and water four days, and oxygen will be over tommorow for them."

"I just don't know what'll happen to me. But...I will always remember of you, fuzzy old bird. And of every dreamer I ever helped escape from their nightmares."

_The logos of the enterprises appear once more, but this time, half of them get corrupted._

_A scarecrow, made out of Zalgo's armory, is calmly resting agains't the "sunshine" of the Zalgo Dimension._

"Zalgo did...exactly what he said he was going to do. He took control...of half of the multiverse's lifeforms.", Pearl stated. _She tells it to Sonic (once again changing of scarf, but this time with a more melancholic design) in the Multiverse Initiative's HQ, while Star Butterfly facepalms searching for the files of her ex-boyfriend, Tom Lucitor._

"We lost...all of us. We lost friends...we lost family", Sonic says. _Meta Knight is covering himself in a dirty, old blanket. Frisk lays a comforting hand on Steven's shoulder, sharing pity to the half-gem boy._

_Tom is shown, wearing a flame cape, red combat gloves, a red mask covering his mouth and sharpening a flame sword, along with showing he dyed his originally salmon-colored hair to a scarlet tone. Pearl can't help but feel shocked over her old ally's changes._

"We lost a part of ourselves.", Sonic continues. _Tom removes the mask and looks to his back, spotting the light pinkish-white gem._ "This is the fight of our lives.", Sonic concludes. _Pearl and Sonic are in a dark background, looking at a photo of Sonic and co., back from the first adventure of the hedgehog._

"This is going to work, Sonic."

"Yes. It will. Because if it doesn't, I don't know what we can do anymore except run away."

_**MULTIVERSE: FINAL LEVEL**_

…

"Hey, uh, is anyone home?", a young girlish voice says. _A holographic camera that shows the outside of the Multiverse Initiative's HQ reveals that there was Giana, the blonde italian girl with the ability to transform into a powerful punk._ "This is the Giana Sisters! We like...met a few years ago? At the air port, in Dreamland? I got really punky!"

"Is this a old message?", _Sonic questions, as he and Pearl get up to look at the holographic screen._

"Giana Sisters? Punk Giana? Yeah, yeah, I know you know that!", _Giana says, trying to make the hedgehog and the gem recognize her._

"It' the front door..."

"Yeah, that's me. Can you buzz me in?"

_**[COMING SOON...]**_


	2. Lucitor Family

Tom Lucitor, one of the founding members of the first Multiverse Initiative, after the tragic Hero War, was forced to find refuge in a alternate dimension version of Milan, Italy, where lived the heroine with a strong and punk-y side, Giana.

He had long years, far from his beloved family of the underworld, before slowly being able to come back for them in 2018, unaware of a catastrophe that was spreading across the multiverse.

Thanks to a single, powerful snap of a godly-like being's fingers.

Some weeks, after the Infinity War across the multiverse, in the underworld of Mewni, a dinner was happening in the home of the Lucitor Family. Meanwhile, after telling about his previous adventures to his mother, father, aunt and great-grandfather, he began to get called for the table.

"Alright mom, I'm coming.", Tom stated, as he began to run inside...but there was nothing. Only ambient sounds, and a tree-growing like noise spreading over the place. "Mom, I'm here-"

A gasp escaped of the half-demon and half-Mewman's mouth as he saw his family's bodies, extended like corpses over the ground, as they began to lose color while being covered by a black, goo-like substance.

"Mom? Hey!", Tom said, horrified, as he tried to shake all his family back to life, only for nothing. "Mom? Mom? Dad? Aunt? Grandpa?"

_**MULTIVERSE: FINAL LEVEL**_


	3. Lost and Found

In the depths of the Multiverse space, a ship travelled through it...but definitively, without it's original owners, neither a taste of victory inside it. Actually, it was the bitter taste of defeat that took the minimal atmosphere inside the ship. NiGHTS, Frisk and Steven Universe were using it, after losing all the allies they got on the Zalgo Dimension for the corrupting snap.

For some minutes, the only kind of fun NiGHTS and Frisk had together was playing chess, with Steven working as a sort of commenter. However, it didn't last long, as their spirits, most of the time optimistic in each of their own ways, were far too crushed. The Nightmaren jester isolated herself from the youngsters and summoned a blue diamond, with the intend to leave her voice recorded in. She laid her back agains't the metal and sighed.

"_Owl? And...Helen, Will...if you two are there?...If you found out this crystal here...don't spread it to the Nightopians. They'll probably spend the rest of their lives crying. I don't know if you guys will ever get it. I...really hope so...I just...hope._

_Today is...either 21 or 22. If it wasn't for the fact I'm trapped in space, I'd say it would be a cool day. I gotta thank the blue sweater kid for saving me, and Steven. You'd love her. A pacifist. Only fights without a choice. Sadly, the two's oxygen will run out tommorow...and about me, I'll end up crashing in something. And that's it. Guys...I didn't wanna pull out anymore surprises but...well, you can guess what the situation looks like for me._

_Don't feel too bad about this. Just remember of me, you three. Because if I somehow meet my ending know, understand, that I will be thinking of your three. Always you three._"

NiGHTS gently places the diamond aside and flies to check over the youngsters. Steven and Frisk are already sleeping, to what they theorized to be their last night, and NiGHTS just gently picked them both up. She wanted to weep, mourn over them so much, but she had to be strong, even in this obvious death case.

That is, until a light shined on her face.

The light went brighter. Brighter. It forced Steven and Frisk to wake up from their probable last sleep, and gasp in a mix of happiness and surprise. The source of the blinding, almost godly hopeful light, was revealed to be the conjured ship of the three remaining Diamonds, also filled with eleven people beyond the three of the most powerful gems in existence, ready to save them.

_In the Multiverse Initiative's HQ..._

Sonic was in the bathroom, shaving any beard that could begin to grow on him, and changing his scarf, from the previous fierce design to one that showed the depression, the harsh emotion he and the others felt with the failure of stopping Zalgo's goals. He sighed to the mirror he was looking at, before gasping as he realize it began to shake. Violently.

He ran outside at the speed of sound, in time to watch along with Pearl, Star Butterfly, Dipper and Mabel Pines, and Pacifica Northwest, the ship of the Amazons of the Galaxy being carried by the one-piece incomplete ship of the Diamond Authority.

After the blue and yellow hands gently laid down the Amazons's ship, the Diamonds, Steven's best friend Connie Maheswaran, Stanley and Stanford Pines, Soos Ramirez and Wendy Corduroy, and Frisk's monster friends (Toriel and Asgore Dreemurr, skeleton brothers Sans and Papyrus, Undyne and Aphys) got outside the Diamond Ship. Meanwhile, NiGHTS helped Steven and Frisk walk as Sonic rushed to join with his purple ally.

"I couldn't stop him...", NiGHTS informed, bitter taste of defeat still in her voice.

"Neither could I.", Sonic replied.

"I lost a kid...", NiGHTS said, holding back the wish to cry for Cream.

"NiGHTS, _all of us lost_.", Sonic said, a little bit firmly.

"Is...uhm...", NiGHTS said, reluctant to ask if her oldest friends besides Owl were safe from the corruption snap.

"NiGHTS!", both Helen and Will cried together, rushing to hug their jesterly friend, that gladly returned the hug.

"It's okay...", NiGHTS assured them...even though she wasn't so sure about this statement, herself.

Everyone was taken inside, for a equivalent of the living room in the Multiverse Intiative HQ, so NiGHTS could get properly healed from her injuries.

"It's been 23 days since Zalgo's success over the multiverse.", Pearl began to say. "Forms of ruling are crumbling, and other people are trying to find out what's going on. And it looks like he did...exactly what he said he was going to do. He took control...of half of the multiverse's lifeforms."

"Where did he even go?", NiGHTS asked, nearly screaming out of pain.

"We have no idea.", Sonic regretfully informed.

"He just went through a portal and boom, done.", Coraline said, making NiGHTS meet the remaining members of the Amazons of the Galaxy; Coraline, Ami & Yumi and Cornet Espoir. Both were standing besides a window that showed, on the outside, Meta Knight and the Delta Warriors sitting on a bench, in deep thought.

"What happened with them?", NiGHTS asked.

"They're angry.", Cornet answered. "All of them think they failed, in their own ways. We all failed, but they're probably taking this the hardest."

"...Wait. Are those two a girl band?", NiGHTS asked, pointing to Ami and Yumi.

"Sure.", Yumi said, not really interested in a talk after losing her companions.

"We were hunting Zalgo for three weeks. We scanned every universe we know, and we got nothing.", Pearl explained.

"NiGHTS. You battled him.", Sonic stated.

"Who even told you that?!", NiGHTS snapped, much to the shock of everyone in the room. "I never fighted him. I failed just like Reala, who _**died**_. Meanwhile, Zalgo threw his own moon at my face and a lovely-dovely gem mashup gave the stone to him. That's what happened. _There was no battle_."

"He didn't even give any clues to where he lives?! You were probably in his world, for freak's sake!", Sonic kind of snapped back.

"Pfft!", NiGHTS hissed. "I saw this years ago. I had a vision, that I didn't want to believe. Everybody, including me, thought it was a silly dream!"

"NiGHTS, calm down and focus.", Sonic said, trying to be more gentle.

"I _needed_ you. In the past. That trumps whatever you need...sorry, it's too late now. You know what I need.", NiGHTS said, before pushing things off the table with a simpel arm swipe, much to everybody's shock. "I believe I remember telling _you_, Soni."

"Woah woah woah, NiGHTS, slow down!", Dipper nearly ordered, standing between Sonic and NiGHTS.

"Otherwise what we needed was power orbs boosted by dreams! Remember that?!", NiGHTS said, slowly rising her voice to a scream. "_That's what we needed_\- no matter if our freedom got lost forever!"

"That...didn't work out, right?", Sonic said, feeling very sheepish inside himself.

"I said, "we are gonna lose". You said, "we are going to do this together".", NiGHTS said, mocking Sonic's voice. "And guess what? We lost, Sonic. You weren't there. But that's our job, right? Our best work after this fact? We're the Multiverse Initiative, we're the _Multi_verse Initiative. Not the _Mono_verse Initiatve, right?"

"Okay, we get it. Now...please, sit.", Dipper said.

"Nah nah, nah.", NiGHTS growled, pushing Dipper out of the way. "Here's my point."

"Calm down!", Mabel almost desperately cried.

"They're great guys by the new.", NiGHTS suddenly said in a more amicable tone, motioning to the newcomers that saved her and the youngsters from space. "We need you all. You guys are new blood or...minerals."

"NiGHTS!", Pacifica yelled.

"Argh, you...irresponsible jerk! _I GOT NOTHING FOR YOU, SONIC! I GOT NO PROPER INFORMATIONS, NO CLUES, NO PLANS, NO OPTIONS_. Zero! Zip! Nada! No trust. _LIAR_!", NiGHTS screamed from the top of her lungs, shaking for the second time in a while the blue blur.

Afterwards, for the shock of everyone, NiGHTS ripped her own Ideya Diamond from her chest and threw it at Sonic's hands, her emotions making her forget that she pratically needed it to properly live without her Nightmaren blood.

"Here, take it. You find him, put that thing on, and hide.", NiGHTS said, her raw emotions taking over her, before she began to get weak and drop to the ground. Everybody began to gather around her and a hurt Sonic.

"NiGHTS!", Sonic cried, horrified.

"I'm fine...I...", NiGHTS began to protest, before falling in unconsciousness.


	4. I Went For

For a moment, while she was unconscious, NiGHTS could swear she was truly dying. Being pulled to the Nightmaren grave, a place she never wanted to be in after rebelling. A fate her best friends saved her from, and now she stupidly wasted. Her life flashed, since her creation, to her adventures, to the Multiverse Initiative...

And then, before it could reach the bitter memories of her allies getting corrupted, NiGHTS woke up.

"Welcome back, sleepy head.", Amethyst greeted her; she probably had regenerated, after being poofed by stress, in the meantime the jester was unconscious. Helen and William were at her sides, each looking with disappointment and worry over NiGHTS.

"Star had to clog that.", Dipper explained, dryly. "You'll need alot of time, probably a whole day, to get back your strenght so...sorry, not participating."

"We could use some sort of elixir to make her better in less time.", Connie hopefully suggested.

"Kid, you know we got places to go.", Sans reminded.

"And where you'll all go?", Pearl asked.

"Destroy Zalgo.", Yellow Diamond, shapeshifted along with her fellow diamonds to a more presentable size, said.

"Avenge the lives he corrupted.", Stanford Pines added out.

"Hey, that's technically _our_ job.", Pearl said. "And also, we work as a team, and we're getting a little fragile."

"And this is _our_ battle as well. Don't forget you have territory, but we also have vendetta.", Sonic came in.

"Besides...Wendy? Soos? Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford?", Mabel said; she didn't really feel like consulting the others, whom she was very less familiar with. "Do you know where he is?"

"No.", the four of them said, nodding their heads negatively.

"But we'll find who might know.", Blue Diamond gently promised.

"No need too.", Frisk said, getting right behind her monster friends. They all were so happy seeing their ambassador again after so many years; Toriel, Papyrus and Asgore hugged her, Alphys shook hands and Sans and Undyne patted her back playfully. "I can tell you where Zalgo is."

"Go for it.", Undyne encouraged.

"Okay...Zalgo, for a long time, kept control of my mind.", Frisk said, the smile popping into a frown. "And while he worked, he talked about his plan of mass revenge. And my controlled self wanted to please him. She'd ask, "Where we will go once you fulfill your goal?". And he always answered: the Zalgo Dimension."

"That's _the_ narcissist.", Pacifica commented.

"And then, where is he?", Sonic asked.

"I think we know exactly the place she's describing.", Cornet said, showing a hologram of a "planet", all dark and red, like it was the home of incarnate evil. "And it's creepy."

"Ew!", Ami and Yumi said.

"It's like evil itself lives there! And-", Coraline was commenting with disgust, before noticing with a gasp a shockwave travelling in the planet's surface. "Oh my god..."

"That is Zalgo's lair.", Frisk stated, pointing a tall, visible structure in the surface of the hologram. A castle.

"He still has the stones.", Pearl realized.

"You know we don't have much to work with, right?", Star Butterfly tried to remind off.

"Y-yeah...", Alphys said, with her typical stuttering. "S-she has a point-"

"He still got the stones...", Mabel theorized, before gasping, her old, big joy coming back. "DIPPER! You know what this means?!"

"...Not really.", Dipper confessed.

"Is that we can get the stones back...", Asgore smirked.

"And bring our friends back!", Connie nearly jumped out of excited hope.

"Yeah...easily like that?", Pacifica kind of snarled of sarcasm, not putting enough faith on this plan.

"Easily like that.", Sonic said, sharing a knowing look with Steven Universe's best friend.

"Even if the chance is too...slim. We have to try, for the sake of everyone trapped in that castle unwillingly.", Pearl thoughtfully said.

"Guys, if we do this, how do we know this isn't just gonna be like another failure like last time?", Star Butterfly said, her back (and probably of Mewberty's along) chilling with the dark days that were the few previous weeks.

"Because, you didn't have us to fix your mistakes.", Yellow Diamond sternly replied, crossing her arms and making the whole room turn their eyes towards her.

"Hey, listen here, Diamond Lady or whatever your name is. I don't know who you think you are, but everyone has tried there best in what we can do as of now, so if you were so hell bent on backing us up, why didn't you guys just swoop in and handled it, huh?", Dipper asked.

"Because unlike you're little team of six, we managed to help out more multiverses than you can count, so unless you want our help, don't get smart with me.", Yellow Diamond replied, hesitating just a bit of agressiveness. Dipper, after recieving this reply, could just look at Sonic, who had a defeat look on his face.

Meta Knight and the Delta Warriors, who were respectively drinking coffe and eating sweeties while watching the discussion, stood up. In particular, Meta Knight looked the one most pissed off, his eyes glowing with red fury as he removed the dirty cloak he was using to cover himself. Him and Kris extended their hands upwards, summoning the Twin Overlords, that came to them and had a high chance of chopping off the more multiverse-wide saving team.

But out of all of them, only the Stan Brothers and Soos looked shocked; the monsters looked surprised at most, Connie and Wendy had gleeful looks and the Diamonds, the oldest of them all, didn't look phased in anyway. Yellow smiled toughly.

"This one is tolerable.", Meta Knight said, his eyes now glowing in a more happy blue, as he made the Diamond greeting with his hands. Sonic just looked up from the map with a serious, determined expression to his teammates.

"Let's give that demon some hell.", Sonic announced.

_**MULTIVERSE: FINAL LEVEL**_

"Ok, so who never travelled to space?", Cornet Espior asked as she, Coraline and Ami and Yumi sitted on their respective places on the Amazons of the Galaxy's ship. Only Sonic and the Pines and co., out of everyone that was brought for the trip (excluding NiGHTS and Steven), raised their hands; Stanford shruged, not fully settling if being trapped in another dimension could be considered going to space.

"Why?", Pacifica asked.

"Don't you dare puke here.", Coraline replied, recieving as a answer a eyeroll.

"Approaching jump in three...two...one!", Frisk announced, pressing a button.

The Amazons' ship jumped towards a wormhole, and Sonic held into his seat the most strongly he could. Finally, what looked like a eternity of wind ripping their skins off ended, with the ship slowing down until it reached a world. A strange, terrifying world, covered in black and red, and that nearly looked like it was in a perpetual night. And they were just some meters near a castle.

"We're gonna check out the area! Wait a bit!", Connie said, as she and her group climbed out of the ship to check around. The rest who remained inside prepared themselves for the unavoidable, incoming battle.

"This is going to work, Sonic.", Pearl said, trying to choke hope back into the situation.

"Yes. It will.", Sonic reluctantly agreed, as he gently closed a compass that had the picture of the aftermath of his first adventure, right after he learned about the multiverse. "Because if it doesn't, I don't know what we can do anymore except run away."

"There's nothing dangerous.", White Diamond announced.

"In fact...besides your taken allies, he's all on his own.", Toriel sympathetically said.

"That's more than enough.", Frisk replied.

…

Inside the castle, all the living forms of one half of the multiverse moved like droids through the halls, the rooms, doing varied things. But the throne was actually empty; Zalgo himself was sitting on a more modest chair. The Infinity Gauntlet was fixed on his hand, and his entire left side looked...melted. Like that part was shoved inside a stove and burnt nearly beyond recognition.

He looked calm, but sad...it was like he lost, just like the heroes. Which wasn't wrong.

Suddenly, the peace of Zalgo and his new slaves was interrupted when a double white beam nearly got at him. They came from White Diamond's eyes, who tried to hit him with her own mind control beams, but failed. While Wendy, Soos and the Stan Twins focused on trying to bring sense to the slaves without the gauntlet, a swarm of other heroes came for the culprit.

First, Blue and Yellow Diamond ganged upon him, each using a hand to grab a side of his chin. Star Butterfly jumped in, and held thighly on the arm containing the gauntlet. This gave the chance for Meta Knight to make a precise cut right on the spot, like butter agains't a hot knife. The War Trio came in, along with the remaining Amazons of the Galaxy, and all of them pointed their weapons at Zalgo.

Sonic, with the knuckles he wore during his adventure agains't the Winter Gem, walked in along with Pearl and the Delta Warriors; all five of them just glared bloody daggers at Zalgo's pitful state. Coraline, with a hopeful smile, picked up the gauntlet and looked at it's backhand, only for her to gasp, "Oh no..."

All of them realized...there wasn't even a single stone in the metal glove.

"Where are the stones?!", Sonic asked, nearly screamed.

"Answer us!", Stanford demanded, pointing his own magnetic gun to Zalgo.

"You monster!", Stanley added out, pointing brass knuckles fists to the demon.

"I already fulfilled my revenge over it.", Zalgo explained. "Keeping the stones wouldn't do nothing but tempt me for further things."

"You traumatized trillions!", Star Butterfly yelled.

"You should be happy you're okay."

"Tell us where the stones are!", Pearl demanded.

"Reduced to dust."

"T-that doesn't make sense!", Star Butterfly pointed out. "How did you use them two days ago, then?"

"I used them...to destroy them. As incredible as it sounds, I nearly died...but now, the work is done. And it will always be done. I am..inevitable.", Zalgo replied.

"N-nononono!", Dipper said, beginning to panic and stress out. "Guys, check anywhere you can! He's gotta be lying to us!"

"He is one of, the most vile things in the multiverse, if not _the_ one.", Frisk sadly stated, with heavy sympathy. "But he has the honor to never lie."

"Ah...thank you, Frisk.", Zalgo sadly smiled. "Perhaps I treated you too harshly...and never properly brought you back to you true family."

In a second, Meta Knight and Kris were screaming in blind rage. In another, before anyone could stop them, they stabbed Zalgo's back together with the Twin Overlord's, right on the seventh mouth he had. It bleeded like a waterfall as Zalgo felt to the ground, along with the half of the multiverse's lives he controlled.

"What did you two do?!", Cornet whisper-screamed, as the two realized what exactly they've done.

"I-I wen't for...", Kris stuttered.

"We both...went for the seventh mouth...", Meta Knight realized, being the first one to walk out of the castle, without purpose.

Out of respect, Frisk closed Zalgo's eyes, who were wide open in the moment of his unexpected death. Defeat, for the heroes, tasted even bitter now.


	5. Timeskip

_**FIVE...**_

_**YEARS...**_

_**LATER...**_

The multiverse got so different, since the snap.

While no one died physically, there was no cure for the corruption without Zalgo...or the Infinity Stones. So, without Zalgo to control their bodies, it was like half of the multiverse's population was in a corrupted kind of permanent vegetative state. Initially, most of the unlucky ones (excluding the heroes) were given back to their friends, family, loved ones...but it seemed to hurt even more. Being so close to them, yet unable to talk to them.

In the end, they were contained in a isolated place, with dim hopes that they could get better.

But it didn't affect only people. It affected whole places, that became locations with life of their own...and also unclear goal. Both the corrupted population and the corrupted bits of the multiverse were lost without Zalgo, and the other half was lost without them and a way to cure them.

Some universes, while visibly shaken in fear, tried to strive and keep themselves hopeful that everything would be alright. Others reacted very differently, the most wrecked ones hanging from "perpetually sad, slow and nearly inactive" to "falling slowly but surely in a anarchy of denial and rage".

Even the heroes of the multiverse gave up hope of trying to stop it, and just tried to keep their people's spirits up. People had to embrace it while there was no cure.

...is it the end of the multiverse?

Or...is there yet hope?

_Mobius' heart city, planet Mobius_

There was an abandoned dinner area, serving now as a therapy session area in this shaken multiverse. Various mobians, among them, Sonic the Hedgehog, were talking.

"So, w-well, I...went on a date that day. The first time in five years, you see?...we sat on the dinner...and had no topic to talk about", a rabbit around his 20's said, awkwardly.

"What did you talk about?", Sonic sympathetically asked.

"Same things over, y'know? How everything was changing...my job, his job. How much we missed meeting each other. Everything got quiet...and he cried while they served salads."

"What about you?", a second mobian, a fox, asked.

"I cried before they could serve dessert...but I'll see him tommorow. So..."

"That's great. You took the hardest step, the jump that you didn't know where you would end up falling in.", Sonic said, with a assuring smile, as another Mobian in the session begins to tear up. "And that's it. You gotta take one step at a time. To become a entire person again. And find purpose. When I learnt about the multiverse, after finding my first family, I was alone. For a good time. You have to move on. Have to. The rest of the multiverse is in our hands. We are the ones that have to take care of it now, and now we must do something. I'm pretty sure that if we were the ones controlled by Zalgo, the other part of the multiverse would do the same."

…

In a certain universe's version of Milan, Italy, there was a self-storage facility, full of junk and pre-teen toys, until a van. A owl of brown plumage somehow made inside the van, and with it's feet, began to active the opening to the Dream Realm, the portal to the Gessert Kingdom.

Once the rear door opened, it busted violently, and a heroine jumped out of the van. Giana Milanesi, mostly known as "Giana Sisters" thanks to her alter-ego. She grunted, still in her perky goth-like Punk form, before deactivating back to the original appearence, with blue-and-white clothes, red sneakers, dark blue hoodie and blonde hair. Due to her knees being shaky, she had a hard time to stand up.

"What the...?", Giana stated, before looking around, confused...and scared. "Maria?", she called out her twin sister.

Giana made her way out of the facility, shocked that the only thing she saw on her hometown's streets was desolation of all kinds, and posters labeled "MISSING". She tried to snatch information from a lonely kid in a bicycle, but they moved on, almost falling into tears. Continuing, she eventually found a large place, a memorial called "_THE CORRUPTED_", for the victims of Zalgo's snap.

Once she got close to one of the graves, she gasped in shock. It was clearly written over it the full name of her sister, _Maria Bella Milanesi_.

"No...please, it can't be!", Giana exclaimed in disbelief and grief for her twin, immediately dashing forward (excusing a couple in her way) to find if there was the grave of someone else. "She's- no, no! Please, not Sally too! No!"

Giana kept seeing the word please like she was cursed to speak only that for all eternity. In her crusade for the tombstone, she accidentaly found one, of...herself. It was labeled _Giana Rosa Milanesi_.

"What?", Giana mouthed, now confused.

The blonde checked more tombstones, but thankfully, none of them had Sally's name on it. She walked back to her home, and tried to knock the door. She ringed the doorbell. Tried to open it. Closed.

However, someone did answer it. It was a teenager, with slightly dark chocolate brown hair, pale skin, green eyes, and a dirty pink sweater. It was her, indeed. Sally Williams, who became her adoptive sister right after Giana's first adventure in Gessert Kingdom.

"Sally?", Giana said, nearly in disbelief.

"Sis?", Sally gasped, and the two felt into a bone-breaking hug. It lasted until Giana had a realization that made her shove her adoptive sister back.

"You got so big!", Giana said, just remembering her adoptive sister being eight, four years younger than her and Maria. The adoptive sisters shared another hug.


	6. Buzz Me In

_New Multiverse Initiative facility_

Steven Universe (now a official member of the Multiverse Initiative, and nineteen years old, but still keeping most of his younger-looking appearence and voice) began to carefully cut up in triangles a dual bread with jelly filling. In the same room, there was Pearl, now with a new regeneration outfit: a reddish-pink skirt-shirt, salmon orange shirts, orange socks and yellow shoes, and a large, transparent green bow on her belt's back.

Physically, there wasn't really anybody else on the room. But there was holographic calls all around them, belonging too: Frisk, Coraline, Cornet Espoir, Ami & Yumi, Ly the Fairy, the Team Marvel (Connie was 18 years older and, again, after a long while, with long hair), Dipper and Mabel Pines, and Pacifica Northwest.

"Yeah, we got on that super-suspicious warship the Marvel guys detected.", Yumi said; the group was having a mildly lighthearted chat over their latest missions.

"It was highly infected with space trash.", Frisk explained.

"Thanks for giving the tip, guys.", Coraline said, winking to the screen showing the whole group.

"You were closer.", C onnie pointed out.

"Yeah, now we smell like old trash!", Cornet playfully stated.

"You got a reading on those shakes?", Pearl asked to the holographic Ly.

"It was a mild subduction on the Glade's soil.", Ly replied.

"Do you have any visuals? Or information of how we're handling it?"

"Earl...it was an earthquake inside the water. There isn't really anything we can do to handle it."

"Team Marvel, we'll see you here at the next month?"

"Uhhh...nope.", Stanley answered, noticing his brother was a bit busy checking a screen in his clock.

"Yeah, what he said, dawg. Sorry.", Soos added out.

"Wait...the redhead got a haircut!", Ami realized, pointing at Wendy's now-shorter hair, held in a wavy side ponytail with a bang on the other side.

"You know we're cover alot of territory, right?", Wendy asked, slightly irritated. "There are things happening on my home planet, but also on countless worlds!"

"You got a point there, got a point.", Ami mumbled to herself.

"Okay. I understand.", Pearl quietly said. "But remember, this channel is always active. So, whenever anyone's making evil, or whenever anything goes wrong...call me."

Each of the Multiverse Initiative members began to cut off their calls, and the Team Marvel wished good luck before hanging off. ...but Dipper, Mabel and Pacifica didn't hang off the call, unlike the first two's great uncles.

"Where are you three?", Pearl asked, tired.

"Beach City. The police found a whole room with bodies. They look like foreign criminals, but nobody could identify whenever they came from. They didn't even put a fight.", Dipper explained.

Pearl got mute, immediately realizing who was the responsible for this massacre.

"It's gotta be Lucitor.", Mabel added out. "What he is doing through these years...man! Even _I_ am scared of finding him!"

"You guys will...find where he's going, right?", Steven asked, taking a bite of one of the smaller pieces of sandwich. Meanwhile, Pearl fought a urge to cry.

"Uh...", Pacifica was about to protest.

"Please.", Pearl pleaded.

"Okay. We promise.", Dipper agreed, albeit still reluctant, before hanging the call.

Finally, mildly alone, Pearl began to cry, despite Steven's attempts to comfort her and wipe her tears away..

"Y'know, I'd cook something for you guys but...no, too sad."

Steven nearly gasped noticing Sonic, entering and stumbling over a bookshelf. Pearl, noticing her old companion's entrance, wiped her tears away.

"You're here to clean the place?", Pearl asked, still in a sad tone.

"To see a friend.", Sonic replied with a smile.

"Your friend is doing pretty well."

"You know...I saw alot of whales and fish when I was coming to the bridge."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The water got cleaner."

"You know, if you want me to look at the bright side of things...I...will hit you in the head with one of those sandwiches."

"Hehe, good one.", Steven said, as he, Pearl and Sonic sharing lighthearted smiles to each other.

"Sorry guys...force of habit.", Sonic stated, removing his scarf and throwing it away, before sitting on a chair.

"You guys can feel welcome to talk.", Steven said, excusing himself to go out of the room.

"So...you know, that I keep telling everyone they should never give up, and grow. Some do...but not us.", Sonic began to Pearl.

"If I move on, who'll do this?"

"Maybe that isn't really necessary."

"I used...to just have my fellow gems, and the son of the one I was the most trusted confidant of. Then, I found another family...and I got better, because of it. Even after...they're gone, along with my main family...I still try to be better."

"We need a life, and fast."

"You first."

Suddenly, a holographic live camera popped up in front of the gem and the hedgehog, and it showed someone they really thought to be one of the snap's corrupted victims. Giana Milanesi. And she had the van to the Dream Realm right behind her.

"Uh...Hey! Hey, uh, is anyone home?", she said. "This is Giana Milanesi aka the Giana Sisters! We met a few years ago? At the airport, in Dreamland? I got really punky. You wouldn't really recognize the blonde me."

"Is this an old message?", Sonic said, getting up, impressed over Giana's mood not changing at all after the years. In fact, he was pretty much believing someone actually was putting old footage, and showing it to them in a cruel prank playing with their hopes.

"It's the front gate...", Pearl analyzed.

"Giana Sisters? Punk Giana? Yeah, yeah, I know you know that!", Giana said, still trying (in her head) to ring a bell in their heads. "I need to talk to you."

…

After reluctantly opening the Multiverse Initiative's new facility's gates, they felt personally relieved that they weren't getting pranked, or tricked, or were having hallucinations. In fact, Giana was okay. But now, pacing nervously in front of them.

"Giana. Are you alright?", Sonic gently asked.

"Y-yeah, I am...", Giana lied, struggling before finally speaking up her question. "You guys ever studied Physics of the realm I was trapped in?"

"Only to talk.", Pearl confessed.

"Okay, so...five years ago, right before Zalgo, I was in a place called the Dream Realm. It's kinda like a tiny tiny realm that you must enter unconscious. Maria...she's my...s-she was my...sis. And she was supposed to pull me out, but Zalgo snap happened and boom! Stuck."

"I'm sorry...that must've been a rough bunch of years there."

"Well, for me, it was five hours, so you don't need that much pity. See, the Dream Realm's rules are entirely different from the ones we have. Nothing is really precise. And- ooh, sandwich? Right when I was hungry.", Giana said, right before taking a bite out of one of Steven's sandwiches.

"Giana, what is even that you're saying?", Sonic asked, confused and bewildered.

"That time works in a very unique way in the Dream Realm. But the problem is, well, dreams aren't fully predictable, – excluding mine -, so, there's no way to navigate it. But something in my head says it's possible! Like, control the chaos and navigate in, find a point in time and then find ourselves in another...kinda like...before Zalgo."

"Okay, okay, so...you mean a time machine?", Sonic asked.

"Pfft, of course not!...", Giana snickered, before realizing the hedgehog had a point. "Okay...yeah, it's a time machine of sorts. Really, no, it's too crazy to believe...but no, we gotta try it. There has to be some way to fix this mess but...too crazy."

"Nothing's too crazy once your pupil learns space travel.", Pearl smirked.

"So, got any idea of who we should speak the news too?"

Considering the topic was dreams, Sonic and Pearl knew there was a ally more than enoughly qualified for the job.


	7. Dreamy Hope

Ever since five years ago, she tried and failed to stop the worst nightmare of her life who directly killed her brother and then took away one of the children she was trying to protect, NiGHTS decided to take a break on being a Multiverse Initiative member, and even the Protector of Nightopia. After all, the Night Dimension's menaces were already probably dead, frozen, with her being the exception thanks to her good curse, the red Ideya shard.

Now, the purple jester of dreams lived inside the simple lake house of her first human best friends. In her head, it was surprising how much time progressed for them: when she first met William Taylor and Helen Cartwright, they were just twelve year old kids. She saw them pass teenagehood, enter adulthood, and now...they had a three/four years old girl.

Althought she was far from being a actual parent of Zoe Cartwright Taylor, NiGHTS took care of her equally, being like the fun aunt of the house.

On this new day, it was the usual routine of playing like a common court jester to Zoe, with the twist of showing amulets like the one of her first ally, Owl, that she would give as birthday gifts for the girl's parents. That is, until she noticed a giant vehicle shaped like thighs and legs, from which Sonic, Pearl and Giana came out. She didn't really look forward for what was about to be discussed...

_Some minutes later..._

"Now, we know what it sounds like.", Giana concluded explaining the whole plan.

"NiGHTS, you're like a jester that sees dreams from other's perspectives. Is anything impossible after what you saw?", Sonic asked.

"Well, no, but Dream fluctuation messes with the Planck scale, which then triggers the Deutsch proposition.", NiGHTS stated. "Are we good on that conclusion?"

"...thank you.", Sonic said. He, Pearl and Giana were all puzzled over, what in their heads, was NiGHTS talking techno-babble.

"Speaking Layman language, you didn't come home.", NiGHTS said, pointing at Giana.

"I did.", Giana firmly replied.

"More like you...accidentaly survive. It's a fluke of one to billion chance. And now you wanna...how's it called, exactly?"

"Time travel?", Giana replied, trying to hide the immense pride rising on her.

"Sureee. Time travelling. Of course, why we didn't think this like, two years ago? Because it's laughable, or is it a pipedream?"

"But we can take the stones from the past, and use them!"

"We can snap our fingers...and fix the scarred half of the multiverse.", Pearl added out.

"Or make it even more screwed, right?", NiGHTS sarcastically replied.

"I don't believe we would.", Sonic said, somehow, still tapping into his optimism.

"I need to say, I miss being that carefree-kind optimist.", NiGHTS confessed. "But hoping alot won't help if there's no way, smart or not, to execute a good time travel. The most possible outcome is our sure failure."

"Not if we follow the time travel protocol.", Giana said. "That is, no talking to us from the past, no going to sport events-"

"Wait- are you kidding me? The plan to stop the multiverse from crumbling itself is to use a time travel car?!"

"...no."

"Phew...you almost got me there. Because that's not how things work."

"NiGHTS, we have to try.", Pearl said, the most gentle she could.

"We did try...yet, here we are.", NiGHTS sourly replied.

"I know you got many things in your way.", Giana sympathetically said. "Your friends got a kid, and you are helping them take care of her. But I did lose family. Important people. And many others lost as well. And I just found out we can bring her back...bring the other half of the multiverse back. And you're telling me that if..."

"Yes, Giana. If we go back...I will never. Have. A non-blood niece."

Right in time, a dirty-blonde haired girl in purple clothes ran up; it was Zoe. The very young girl was gently picked up and lifted high by her non-blood aunt.

"Mummy and daddy told me to save you.", Zoe explained.

"Good job, you saved me.", NiGHTS beamingly said, before turning the attention back to her teammates. "I really wished you could've come to talk about... Anything else, really. I really...missed you all...those days...Oh, they got a table for six."

"NiGHTS, I get it...it's a whole new start for you, and I'm happy. Really! But we got a second chance.", Sonic said, getting straight to the point.

"Soni, I can't risk rolling the dice again and risk like my...brother did.", NiGHTS said, choking the penultimate word. She still felt empty without her mirror twin brother alive. "You can stay for lunch if you want."

The trio gave up in trying to convice NiGHTS' into going back to the fight, regretfully, as they walked back to the pink legged ship.

"She's scared.", Pearl sadly said.

"We can't blame her.", Sonic pointed out.

"Yeah but, guys, what we're gonna do?", Giana asked. "We need her...if we don't get her, we're gonna stop?"

"No...we gotta fix everything. We still need someone with a big brain."

"Bigger than hers?!", Giana said, in disbelief, pointing to the house.

But in fact, there was someone who's got a large knowledge, and large size as well.


	8. Ambassador Mewberty

For the shock of Sonic, Pearl and Giana, when they met Star Butterfly in a cafe...she didn't look like her regular, common Mewman girl form, neither her dreaded Incredible Mewberty alter-ego. Instead, she looked like a fusion of the two of them. She had the skin and regular eyes of Star, but the extra arms, wings (now orange), shoes and dress (now lime green) of Mewberty. The demon horns headband was gone and, simulating the twisted pigtails of Mewberty, her hair was held in two simple ponytails.

This immense change in one of their longest-time allies was big enough to make them lose their hunger and will to touch their plates.

"Guys, come on! I feel like I'm the only one eating!", Star said; her voice now just had a minimal hint of the raspiness she got while switched with the more savage Mewberty. She gently pushed a plate for Giana. "Come on, eat some eggs."

"I'm...confused.", Giana said, nearly brain dead.

"These are confusing times.", Star said, serious.

"No, no, that's not what I meant.", Giana tried to explain, only to realize through Star's face that she was putting a ruse.

"Nah, I get it. I know, it's crazy! I have normal skin and eyes now."

"Yeah! How, when and why?!"

"Ok, so...five years ago, we got out butts kicken out hard. Except I probably took it harder, and thrice. Mewberty lost, I lost, and I lost with everybody else."

"No one blamed you, Star.", Pearl gently assured.

"Except me.", Star pointed out. "For a long time, I treated Mewberty like she was a phase, that I should ignore her and soon she would go. But soon...I saw she was something permanent. I got eighteen months isolated to put the magic-weird and the destructive-weird together. And now, look at me!...the BEST of both worlds."

"Excuse me, Ms. Mewberty?", a girl, coming in with a group of children from Star universe's Earth, asked.

"Yes?", Star gently replied.

"Can we get a photo?"

"Absolutely, tiny gal. Come on, step up.", Star said, using one half of her six arms to wrap the children close to her, using a fourth to hold a phone towards Giana. "You mind?"

"Oh.", Giana simply mouthed, without much reaction, but silently accepted anyway.

"Say "weird"!", Star said to the children. The four spoke "weird" together as Giana snapped the photo. "Did you get that?"

Giana nodded her head positively as she leaned to give back the phone to the three children.

"Don't you guys wanna grab one with me? I am The Great Giana.", Giana offered, but the kids stood there, silently. "They're Mewberty fans, they don't know Giana Sisters. Nobody does..."

"Uhm, k-kids? Kids, she feels horrible. She...she kinda wants to...", Star awkwardly mouthed, before poking the shoulder of one of the kids, a boy. "You wanna take a picture with her?", she asked, but the boy just shaked his head negatively.

"He's even saying he doesn't want one.", Giana said, agreeing with the boy's opinion. "I understand, y'know? I don't want it anymore."

"But, guys, come on? She...and you..."

"I don't want a photo with them.", Giana bluntly stated.

"She's gonna feel bad...", Star said to the children. "Sorry, Giana, but they said they wanna do it."

"Nope, not anymore.", Giana still denied Star's attempts at kindness.

"No...you...don't feel bad?"

"Just take the flippin' phone!", Giana said, grumpily giving back the phone to the girl.

"Thank you, Ms. Mewberty.", the girl politely said.

"No, I should thank you guys. Thank you very much. Mewberty out!", Star said just like a kid enthusiast, before making a "dab" motion with her upper set of arms.

"Star.", Sonic said, in a serious and unimpressed tone.

"Uh...dab!", Star awkwardly replied, now using two sets of arms to dab.

"Star.", Sonic said, now getting a bit more impatient.

"C'mon, a little bit of kid-popular thing doesn't hurt that much."

"Now, about the important topic..."

"Yeah, the Mewberty going on a time-travel? Guys, I don't have enough expertise on that."

"But, you pulled this off.", Pearl reminded. "I remember a time when most of what I saw looked impossible, too."


	9. ILU3000

Back in the Taylor and Cartwright lake house, NiGHTS washed dishes while juggling with them. While it sounded like a crazy, stupid idea in paper, her precision with acrobatics make her grab the plates like they were light, plastic balls. Once she finished, she stumbled over a photo she picked up.

It was from before the Corruption, showing she and Steven in Beach City, hanging out and laughing, in more fun and carefree times. ...Steven Universe, someone she could consider more than her pupil: a friend, a surrogate son, a paragon with large pontential. He managed to survive, while his friend Cream...

Then, something clicked on the Nightmaren's head. If both of them came, together, with Sonic and co. to the house, they would've surely convinced her she had to go to the fight, no matter what was at stake. What she was fighting for was the thing that mattered. Now, NiGHTS finally knows what she's fighting for.

With this new thing in mind, she touched the red Ideya shard on her chest, finding it to be filled with the bravery of her remaining allies. Stronger than ever.

"Holy sh-!", NiGHTS almost sweared, cutting herself out.

"Holy shh?", Zoe said. Turns out she was hiding behind NiGHTS all the time, giggling mischeivously as she repeated the almost-swear of the jester.

"What are you doing here, young lady?", NiGHTS whispered, seriously.

"Holy shh."

"No, that word is prohibited. Only Mum and Daddy say that word. They coined it, it belongs to both of them."

"Why you up?"

"First off...I never sleep. And also 'cause I got some important...poop-y going on here. I got something...on my mind. Yes, on my mind."

"Was it Juice Pops?"

"...Sure! Of course! Great minds think alike. Juice Pops was...the exact thing on my mind."

_Later..._

"You're done? Now, you are.", NiGHTS said as she tucked Zoe into her bed, gently pushin her face into the pillow. "The face goes there."

"Tell me a story.", Zoe requested.

"A story...", NiGHTS thoughtfully said, before shrugging off. "Once upon a time, a girl went to sleep. The end."

"That's a horrible story!", Zoe said, giggling.

"Come on, that's your top one story.", NiGHTS jabbed, playfully. "I love you alot."

"I love you 3000."

"...wow.", NiGHTS blankly said. "3000? That's straight nuts. Now, go to bed or I'll bring you the worst nightmares. Night, night."

…

"Not that I'm fighting for her affect...but she loves me 3000.", NiGHTS said, pacing in front of the fireplace, right in front of the now married Will and Helen, who were reading a book, together in the couch. "You guys are like...on the 6 to 900 range. Also, what were you goofs reading?"

"NiGHTS, we are not twelve anymore.", Helen replied.

"...it's just a book on composting.", Will replied, with a more understanding tone.

"What's new over composting?", NiGHTS said, still with a absentminded tone.

"Just-"

"I figured the thing, by the way. Time travel."

"What?", Helen nearly gasped. "Woah...it sounds incredible...and scary."

"I feel you."

"We...got really lucky.", Will said.

"I know..."

"Alot of people didn't."

"And I can't help everyone."

"Actually...it's kinda like you can."

"Not if I stop...I can backtrack and, like, stop."

"NiGHTS...trying to make you stop fighting for non-dream things was one of the biggest failures we ever did.", Helen confessed, snatching a smile from the purple dream jester.

"I sometimes wish I could just like...get responsibility out of my shoulders for sure.", NiGHTS replied. "Fly away, freely and with no goal."

"But you would ever rest?", Will asked.


	10. The Test

_In a lab inside the Multiverse Initiative's compound..._

Star used her six hand's fingers to press buttons on a panel, with Sonic and Pearl standing at her sides. Giana was already in her protective suit, in front of the open back of her van, which showed the entrance to the Dream Tunnel.

"Okay, here it goes!", Star announced. "Giana, you can now fire the...uh, weird van stuff."

"The breakers and emergency generators are ready.", Sonic informed.

"Nice! 'Cause...well, I don't wanna lose gal in the 50's."

"_Excuse me_?", Giana asked, with a horrified face.

"She's just joking!", Pearl said in a mildly hysterical tone, before whispering on the Mewman's ear, "You can't stay things like that!"

"I was...just jokin' real bad.", Star protested.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I don't know; we are talking about travelling in time _with dreams_! Either it's a big joke, or a big shock. Ok, now we're good! Giana, wear the helmet. I'm gonna send you back in a week, and you'll walk in it for a hour before bringing you back. How does that sound?"

"Not confusing at all.", Giana lied.

"Giana, you got this. Good luck.", Sonic affirmed.

"I sure do, Sonic. I sure do."

Star began to count down from three, before pressing a button. At first, for five seconds, nothing happened, making the Mewman girl get worried enough to press another button, pulling back Giana...who de-aged back to the early tween age she had back on her first adventure.

"Guys?...I, don't feel right. At all.", the younger Giana said.

"What the hell?", Sonic said, confused.

"What is happening?", Star said, even more confused.

"Who is...her?", Pearl asked, nearly refusing to believe it was the same person sent through the tunnel.

"Give me a sec.", Star said, using her arms to press more buttons.

"Is that you, Giana?", Pearl fearfully asked.

"Yeah, that's me!", the younger Giana said, before getting sucked back to the Dream Tunnel and replaced by, this time, a old woman in the protection suit of Giana.

"What the...", Sonic said.

"Hey, I need a little space here.", Star said, most of her arms getting too crampled.

"Can you bring her back?"

"I am trying!", Star stated, messing with the panel in a attempt to bring the original Giana back.

Once the old Giana got sucked into the Dream Tunnel, a _baby girl_ in Giana's protective suit appeared.

"Giana?", Star mouthed, almost in disbelief.

"It's her. As a freakin' baby!", Sonic, nearly annoyed, pointed out. "Bring the normal Giana back."

"Pearl? When I say kill the power, shut it down."

"Oh my god...", Pearl mouthed, slowly bringing one of her hands to a lever.

"Aaaand- NOW! KILL THE POWER!"

When Pearl pulled out a lever, the van's power shutted down, pulling the normal Giana back to the trio, and she looked pretty dazzed and dizzy at the same time. "Somebody peed my pants...and I don't know if it was baby-me, old-me or...just myself.", she stated once her head fully got back in place.

"...time travel!", Star cheered, extending her three pairs of arms to the sides in a dramatic way. Sonic's response was only to shake his head and walk away from the room. "Hey, what's up? That's obviously a victory!"

But for Sonic, it really meant more and more defeat. He sitted thoughtfully outside the Multiverse Initiative's compound, saddened the only chance the group possibly had of victory was gone...before hearing a whoosing noise, high in the sky. The hedgehog cranked his neck up to find, for his surprise, his best frenemy NiGHTS flying down, the rain of cyan dust that came out of her hands raining at him, like snow.

"Why the sad face?", NiGHTS asked. "Let me see...Giana became a baby."

"For a while, sure.", Sonic replied. "But, what are you doing here?"

"That's a EPR paradox.", NiGHTS spoke, not really caring for the blue hedgehog's question. "You almost pushed time through Giana, instead of the intended of pushing Giana through time. It's dangerous; somebody should've warned you about that."

"You did..."

"Really? Thank godness I'm here, then! But anyway, I fixed it.", NiGHTS stated, before warping a device on her hand. "A Time-Space GPS in full working condition! And, I just want freedom and peace...but it turns out I hate how hiding feelings is rotting."

"Yeah, me too."

"We have a shot at getting the stones, but first, let me tell you about my priorities. Bring back what we lost? Of course, I have hope! Keep what me and they gained? _At every cost_. And...not dying will be nice."

"Sounds like a deal.", Sonic pointed, as he and the Nightmaren shared a handshake.

For the hedgehog's surprise, however, NiGHTS made a vortex with her cyan dust and pulled something out of it...Sonic's speed shoes. And extended her hands to give the shiny, red, gold and white shoes to him.

"I dunno, NiGHTS...", Sonic hesitated.

"Why? They made it for you. Plus, Zoe would probably toy with it before I could give it back to you, and disasters would happen."

"...Thank you, NiGHTS.", Sonic said, picking the pair of shoes by their shoelaces.

"Can you keep it more quiet? I couldn't get stuff for the whole team.", NiGHTS softly said, hesitating to continue speaking. "...We are getting all of them, right?"

"Actually, we're gonna work on that."

…

In the yard of the compound, the Amazon's ship landed in, interrupting a Giana sitting in a bench before she could have a bite out of a bombolone. Frisk and the remaining members of the Amazons of the Galaxy walked out of the ship.

"Hey, where is Big Butterfly?", Coraline asked, taking Cornet's hand.

"Well...in the kitchen.", Giana replied.

"Pines, Northwest? Careful on re-entry.", Frisk warned through a earpiece. "Someone is just eating their food on the landing zone."

Right in the time Giana was recovering her senses, the War Trio landed in front of her without a explict warning, shocking her enough for her to drop the whole bombolone. "Oh my gosh!", she cried.

"Heyo!", Mabel greeted cheerfully. Dipper and Pacifica just waved as the trio walked away.

Star Butterfly, coming out of the compound and realizing at Giana just lost her lunch, decided to give her a plate of nachos, just like how her friend Marco Diaz used to do. Giana was a bit puzzled over the act of kindness of the Mewman, but accepted it anyway.


	11. New Puffy

After arriving through magic and flight to a once-barely inhabited part of Mewni, Star Butterfly guided the remaining Amazons of the Galaxy. The group passed by a sign with the writing "NEW PUFFY", and only stopped once they spotted a port town, where the rest of Meta Knight's kind, along with the Meta-Knights, lived like a common human community at a port.

"Really? Wasn't he like...the mightiest warrior of Dreamland? Like, that's kinda a step down for him.", Coraline pointed out.

"Let's be a bit soft and understand.", Star suggested. "First, they lose Puffy, and then, half of their kind. They're glad they can have a place to live.", she continued, before spotting and going to the Delta Warriors, all of them altered through time.

"You shouldn't have come!", Kris (who got a new, more boyish haircut that left his remaining original eye and his fake eye exposed) said.

"Aaaaaaaah, the Delta Warriors!", Star greeted her old friends. "What's up, Blue Boy? How you're doing? I hope you're well, Glass Goat! Lookin' good as always, Purple Girl!"

"...I kind of prefered when you were either one or other.", Susie said, not really pleased over the fusion state of Star and Mewberty.

"Well, say hello to Coraline, Cornet, and Ami & Yumi!", Star Butterfly presented her new allies, pointing four palms at each of them.

"How are you all?", Cornet politely asked.

"He...won't see you.", Ralsei sadly stated.

"It's already that bad?", Star grimly asked, already knowing about the most obvious reason.

"We only have a chance to see him once per month, and it's just for...his supplies.", Ralsei explained, his scarf pointing to a pile of barrels with all kinds of wine.

"Oh.", Ami and Yumi mouthed, together.

"So...it's that bad.", Cornet sadly said. "Yeah.", Star replied.

…

When Coraline opened the door, allowing the Amazons and Star Butterfly to enter inside the building one by one, the entire group was taken back by the...unpleasant smell that took over the ambient.

"Ew!", Coraline cried, in disgust.

"Uh oh, something just got rotten here!", Star half-joked, before sincerely looking around with her eyes for her friend. "Hello? Meta?"

Slow, incoming steps answered Star's call, and the vision of Meta Knight for the group...almost made them all drop their jaws. Meta, who was in one of his rare, willingly unarmored and unmasked moments, somehow grew a raven mustache and beard, both of them extremely messy and unkempt.

"...Girls!", Meta Knight said, joyfully, once he realized the Amazons and Star's presence on the room. "Oh my goodness! How have you all been? Come here, you blue rascal!"

"N-no, I'm fine.", Coraline tried to gently turn down the hug offer.

"Mewberty, you know my friends Lancer and Rouxls, right?", Meta Knight said, motioning to another room, which Star followed him too.

Surprisingly, compared to Meta Knight, the taker of the Dark World's throne and his lesser dad just looked mildly affected by the aftermath of the Corruption, if compared to the dishelved Meta Knight. The duo was sitting on a couch, with videogame controllers in their hands, chips and a battle royale game on the television.

"Hey guys.", Star happily greeted her old allies from the ill-fated journey of stopping Galacta Knight from conquering Meta Knight's home planet.

"Ho ho ho! Hi, sun hair girl!", Lancer happily greeted her back. "We got dizzy-purple-fruit drinks there, you're welcome to share the same web with us (but no password) and- ...MK? The anonymous person who called me another name-I'm-not-allowed-to-say called me that again!"

"Noobmaster?", Meta Knight casually asked.

"Actually...Noobmaster69.", Lancer explained, right before having his headphones taken by Meta Knight. Knowing what was about to happen, Lancer covered his non-existent eyes as the puffball knight brought the headphones mic next to his mouth.

"Noobmaster69? It's me again, the Mightiest Knight of Dreamland, Meta Knight. Listen here, and listen well...if you don't leave this game right as I speak, I'll personally go to your house, find whenever you're hiding, break your limbs, and stab your brain! That's right. Now, just leave. Weasel.", Meta Knight spoke, sounding threatening yet calm.

"Thanks alot, Mr. MK!", Lancer happily said, right after slipping his glove-like hands from his "ears".

"Remember, warn me when they come back.", Meta Knight replied.

"I will do it, just like you said!", Lancer promised with a smirk.

"Excuse me, Star, but do you want a drink? I have anything of grape flavor, if you want.", Meta Knight offered, calling his part of the Twin Overlord's to open a bottle of clearly artifical wine and drink from it.

"Heyyy, are you like, ok?", Star sympathetically asked, landing her lower right hand on the knight's shoulder.

"Of course I am. Why you're asking that?", Meta Knight casually replied.

"You look like...fluffy but rotton cotton candy.", Star pointed out, with alot of concern.

"Hehehe...so, what's up?", Meta Knight playfully laughed, concerning and worrying Star even further.

"...we need your help. There's a chance we can bring everything we lost back.", Star said, seriously and maturely.

"Like the cable?", Meta Knight asked, before politely coughing and apologizing. "I've been going crazy over it for weeks."

"Like..._Zalgo_."

The oddly playful and calm smile of Meta Knight popped out, like a balloon that just got stung by a sharp, remarkably painful needle. Star couldn't help but feel scared of her knight-ly ally as he held her lower left hand with a shaky hand, an dused the other to point at her.

"I didn't get over this like Kris. So, don't. Speak. That name.", Meta Knight stated.

"Yeah! That's the equivalent of me not being able to swear. Except, uh, everyone follows it.", Lancer added, removing his headphones.

"Please take your hand off me.", Star quietly said, brushing Meta's hand. "Now I know that...you-know-who still is a big trauma thing for you."

"Why I would be scared of that demon, out of everyone? I'm one of his killers, remember?", Meta Knight rambled, walking. "You already know who else killed him, right? But yeah. Lancer, young lad prince-king, please state one of the two people who stabbed Zalgo's seventh mouth."

"A...Twin Overlord?", Lancer innocently tried to guess.

"And who swung and stabbed one of them?"

"I get it, Meta, you're in a bad mood, right?", Star said. "I was in one of these, multiple times. You know who helped me out of them?"

"I dunno...Pearl?"

"Maybe. But in some of these, _you_ helped me."

"Why you don't ask my...crew, and my people how much I helped them? I mean, to the ones that are left."

"We can bring them back from the corruption."

"Stop, young lady...you probably think I find myself a coward, my pride more broken than glass and waiting for rescue. But I am okay, they're okay...right? Aren't we?"

"Ho ho ho! Affirmative, captain!", Lancer said, refusing to state eating candy was literally and possibly rotting bits of his teeth.

"So, whatever is going on, we'll not go on your trip, or care about it in anyway.", Meta Knight continued. "Farewell, ladette."

"We need you, buddy.", Star tried to persuade, but was ignored solemny by the knight fallen from honor.

"Uh...there's wine on the ship!", Yumi offered from the room's doorstep.

"Of what kind?", Meta Knight asked after a pause, still refusing to look up. But there was hope inside of Star, that the Mighty Knight of Dreamland could be brought back to grace again.


	12. Half-Demon Vigilante

A certain pink, leg-shaped ship landed on the Japan of Star Butterfly's native world, which Pearl stepped off from right on time to...find, an old ally.

One that has gained a scary reputation among the remaining criminals of the multiverse.

Ever since Tom Lucitor lost his family to the corruption, instead of taking the role of king of the Underworld, he went crazy and on a world-wide rampage, killing any remaining criminal. Pearl knew that, but at the same time, maybe he could have enough logic to help her and the others...to bring his family back.

She calmly held a umbrella as she walked in the rain, but the shock overtook her as she spotted the infamous criminal known by the title of "scarlet, half-demon Vigilante". He was, somehow, cleaning blood out of his flame sword, but still wearing the outfit he was known for: a flame cape, a pair of red combat gloves, and a red mask that covered his mouth. But the visibly dyed, scarlet hair, along with horns, sticked out of the cape.

Once he felt Pearl was behind him, he removed the mask to look around, revealing he was, in fact, the fallen prince of Mewni's Underworld. His eyes glew red-and-white, perpetually, as his feelings burned like fire ever since the fateful day.

"You shouldn't be here.", Tom stated, with a deeper, lower voice layered below his normal one.

"_You_ shouldn't be here.", Pearl replied.

"I should, because I got a job to go."

"You call that a job?...killing even the worst beings in the world won't bring them back.", Pearl explained, bluntly but regretfully, feeling even more pitful as she saw Tom getting his eyes to look back to normal, and on the verge of tears. "But we maybe...found a chance."

"Don't!...", Tom protested, giving in to sobbing and crying.

"Don't what?", Pearl softly asked.

"Don't...give me hope."

"I'm sorry I took too long to give it to you.", Pearl gently apologized, holding hands with her half-demon ally.

_In the Multiverse Initiative's Compound..._

Cornet and Coraline, NiGHTS and Meta Knight were inside the Testing Chamber of the place. Meta Knight now wore a equivalent of a hoodie for his kind, yet he still drank fake wine, much for the personal shock of the purple jester.

"I don't think you're looking that good, Lebowski.", NiGHTS said, half-joking but completely sympathetical, before turning to the two brains of the Amazons of the Galaxy. "How's the progress, Alice?"

"It's _Coraline_. And you're probably a genius in one shard of the multiverse.", Coraline said, before going back to work.

"...at least she didn't call you Caroline.", Cornet reminded.

On a side room, Ami & Yumi, along with the War Trio, Star and Sonic, looked in amazement at Giana, who was now wearing a metallic, white and blue suit.

"So, that's a time travel protection suit?", Dipper smiled. "Not bad."

"Mabel seal of approval!", Mabel positively thumbed up.

"Hey, take it easy!", Giana said, in response to Star touching the suit with one hand and the cold colored (green, blue and purple mixed) content of a glass tube with another hand.

"I'm being careful here.", Star protested.

"I'd say you're acting very Mewberty-y."

"...that's a bad joke. I'm acting careful."

"These are Abatte Particles, m'kay?", Giana said, now to the whole group in general, as she held up the glass bottle. "And since we don't have Gianna – please, don't mistake it with my name, it's with two N's instead of one N, like mine - Abatte anymore...all we got is that. We can't make more."

"Hey, stop screaming!", Pacifica protested.

"Sorry...but still, we only got enough for a round trip for each one of you. With no-do-overs...and one test run.", Giana apologized and explained.

_Later..._

In the testing chamber, the group of Sonic, Pearl, NiGHTS, Giana, Star, the War Trio and Frisk stood at a control panel, controlling the glass platform together.

"Guys, I'm not freaking prepared...", Giana said, sounding hysterically nervous for the one who suggested the whole idea in the first place.

"I'm in the game.", Tom asserted, secure of himself, as he walked in wearing a version of the Dream Suit (the suit Giana demonstrated before), but adjusted to his size.

"Heh, hi Tom! You'll kinda...now feel a little dizzy and soda reaction because of chrono...stuff? Don't worry about it.", Star assured her ex whom she was in good terms with, as he climbed and took position on the platform.

"Guys, wait a minute. If we can go like, back in time, why we don't just find Zalgo as a baby and...", Pacifica suddenly said, before making motions that heavily suggested strangling with a rope, shocking Dipper and Mabel to the point of short-lived screams.

"First of all...that's just...", Star said, barely managing to build a sentence out of shock.

"It's _Zalgo_.", Pacifica tried to justify.

"But still- time is not like that. If we mess with the past, the future won't care to change.", Star explained.

"So, we go back to get the stones before Zalgo has them...and he won't have them at all! Ta-da!", Giana rationalized.

"Got it.", Tom marked it in his brain.

"That's...also not how it works.", Frisk protested.

"But I heard that once...", Tom awkwardly said.

"Seriously? Where?", Star asked, mildly curious.

"Oh, it's easy! We can name a couple!", Mabel said, before doing a finger counter, "Star Treck, Terminator, TimeCop, Time After Time-"

"Quantum Leap...", Giana joined in.

"A Wrinkle in Time, Somewhere in Time-"

"Hot Tub Time Machine-"

"And Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure!", Mabel finished, taking a moment to take exaggerated breaths before explaining what the names where. "They're all movies where everybody goes back in time!"

"...does Die Hard co-", Giana said before remembering. "No, it doesn't count..."

"It's a fact, Sherlock!", Mabel said, a bit shocked.

"Actually, that part of fiction is just fiction.", Star explained, a bit confused. "Think about it; if you travel to the past, it will become the future, and the present will become the past, and be changed by the future and-", she continued, making a explosion motion with her hands.

"Yeah.", Frisk shyly agreed.

"Wait...Back To The Future lied to all of us?", Giana asked, mildly shocked, but her question fell into deaf ears.

"Okay Tom, get ready for the countdown!", Star said, counting down to three.

A white, transparent helmet covered Tom's head, transporting him to the Dream Realm in high speed, and a opening was in sight for him.


	13. The Plan

Once Tom flied into the opening, he grew back to normal size, but he wasn't in the place he originaly was anymore. Much less, he would find out, his own time. Tom looked in shock at the lake house, which looked more lively than before his family got caught. He popped his helmet and walked and looked around, until he spotted someone he never saw, or even heard laugh, for five years.

"Mom?", Tom murmured, solemnly, right before listening to a beeping noise. It was from a device in his own hand, warning him his visit was about to end. "MOM!", he cried more loudly, diving to door, but before he could fully open it and meet with his family after so long, he was taken back to the future.

He popped on the same platform of glass again, breathing heavily and sitting, hyperventilating.

"Look at me, calm down...are you okay?", Pearl sympathetically asked.

"Yes...i-it worked.", Tom asked, trying to hide he felt even more horrible, having one chance to see his family again, alive and well, before having the chance taken. Thankfully for him, the group wasn't paying attention to that; they were paying attention to the next step of the plan.

_In another room..._

NiGHTS, Sonic and Star, the leaders of the planning of the mission, were pacing at the front, while the others, sitting around a table, looked up. The room had hologram displays everywhere.

"Okay, the time travelling works. Now we just need to figure out...when, and where.", Sonic recaptulated. "Almost everyone here encountered one of the six Infinity Stones."

"I vote for nearly being destroyed by them.", NiGHTS sassily said, crossing her arms.

"This is literally alien talking to me.", Giana sincerely said, being out of the Infinity War while it happened, despite suffering from it's aftermath.

"But still, we just have enough Abatte Particles for each one of us to travel, and the Stones were everywhere in the past.", Star added out.

"Our story.", NiGHTS pointed out. "So the spots are not convenient at all."

"So, we have to pick specific targets.", Tom theorized.

"Good point.", NiGHTS agreed, with a proud smile.

"First off, the Aether.", Sonic suggested. "Meta Knight, do you know something?"

The Knight of Dreamland didn't answer at all, and it was impossible to tell if he was even awake or asleep, because of the pair of sunglasses he had.

"He's sleeping.", Pearl awkwardly explained.

"No, he died.", Dipper said with plain, rude sarcasm, right as Meta Knight bolt, awake.

"Hmmm...where do I start?", Meta Knight began. "Well...the Aether is not a Stone, someone just called it before. It's just a black slime, so someone will need to re-check that. But the story of how I met that is interesting. Years ago...my grandfather had to hide the Stones from the Dark Matter; you know, god of darkness, wanting destruction.

So Tikal, yeah that one. Tikal is a old love of mine...she, well, got her hand stung by a rock, and the Aether got inside her, and she got extremely sick. So I had to get her back to my home planet, and me, along with my people and mycrew from Dreamland, tried to fix her. We used to be dating, and I got to introduce her to my...dead...mother. We aren't even dating anymore, but you know, nothing lasts for eternity- NiGHTS, I didn't finish yet."

"Nice.", NiGHTS said, kind of smiling, before frowning. "Please, drink something healthier."

"Like water? I'd like a cup, thank you.", Meta Knight replied.

Later, in another table, the Multiverse Initiative began to eat a meal, while the remaining Amazons of the Galaxy paced in front of the table to explain the Stone their old leader found, that was the reason for the group to exist in the first place.

"Kebako said that she stole the Powe Stone from Morag.", Cornet tried to explain, and Ami and Yumi made motions with their fingers to mimic scary ghosts, much to Coraline's non-amusement.

"That is a person?", Giana asked.

"Morag is a planet-realm thing.", Coraline explained, first sassily, before preparing to not try as she tried to speak the words. "Kebako...was a person."

"Oh...sorry about the loss.", Giana said, really trying to be sympathetic, but the barrier of lack of knowledge about the other group she just recently found out was in the way.

Everyone then faced Frisk and Pearl, who were on the planning room, taking notes for the entire plan.

"Zalgo found the Soul Stone on 7.200.", Frisk explained.

"What is 7.200?", Pearl asked, in a serious tone.

"A place, cold like snow and death.", Frisk continued explaining, reluctant. "There, Zalgo...murdered my friend, the first fallen human."

"Uh, not it.", Giana said, trying to break the sad, cold ice that got in the room's air, as Pearl noted the information given to her by Frisk.

Even later, NiGHTS and Pearl were lying together in a table full of papers, and Star was lying on the floor, her wings softly flapping like butterfly wings.

"Garnet...my fellow Crystal Gem, had the Time Stone, right?", Pearl mournfully asked.

"Yup, that's the one.", NiGHTS said; while she wasn't too fond of her, she couldn't help but feel glad she saved her life, and so, she was a bit mournful for her as well.

"Wait a sec, girls!", Star said, a realization hitting her. "I think old Eclipsa guarded that before Garnet came along!"

"That leaves the last three stones on...New York.", Pearl realized, a flood of bittersweet memories filling her gem.

"SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!", Star excitedly announced, sitting up.

_Later..._

Finally, the Multiverse Initiative marked the necessary locations to find the Infinity Stones from the past: Soul and Power in 2014, in space; Reality in Puffy of 2013; and Time, Space and Mind in Mobius and Mewni, 2012.

"Alright, we got the plan.", Sonic said. "Six stones, and three teams. One shot."

Soon, the group found themselves walking together to the Dream Time machine, wearing each one of them, versions of the protection suits that fit each of their bodies. And Sonic began a brave, motivational monologue speech to bring courage back to the heart of his fellow heroes; something he didn't do in a long time.

"Fiv eyears ago, we lost...all of us. We lost friends...we lost family...we lost part of ourselves. Today, we got a chance to take the lost half back. You know the teams, and the mission. Get the Stones, and go back. One chance for each one of us, with no mistakes. Most of us will go to places we already saw before, but it doesn't mean we will not face surprises. Be careful, watch your backs. This is the fight of our lives...and we're gonna win. Whatever it takes. Good luck, guys."

"He's...much gooder than I expected.", Coraline commented.

"Right?", Giana agreed, with a big grin.

"Alright. You heard the hedgehog.", NiGHTS said. "Stroke the greens, yellow and pink."

Star Butterfly and Steven Universe gave thumbs up together, to signalize the tractors were engaged.

"You're gonna fix that for us, right?", Ami asked to Tom, who had a tiny Amazons ship on his palm.

"Alright, alright, I will try. No promises.", Tom said.

"See you in a minute.", Pearl said, smiling excitedly.

Together, the groups entered in the Dream Realm, spliting together and going to different places and times in their history.


	14. 2012 and 2013

_The Battle of Mobius, 2012_

The first group of time travelers determined to save their future (NiGHTS, Sonic, Star Butterfly and Giana) popped back, in the time of the battle that cemented the origin of the Multiverse Initiative, a bunch of heroes that used to think of themselves as a bomb...which they were, to take down evil across their worlds.

"Okay, we got out assignments, and two stones to track. Let's remember the time clock we have.", Sonic said to the group, right as a whoosh and a thud noise echoed.

The old, more savage Mewberty just passed by, causing her typical style of destruction, dropping the royal wand of Mewni right next to them. Although glad that happened, Star Butterfly facepalmed, since she felt the shame of Mewberty, whom her mind was now in sync with.

"Feel free to smash whoever gets in your way.", Sonic offered.

"Whatever, that's gratuitous.", Star Butterfly said, picking her old self's wand and teleporting herself to find a certain crystal prison in Mewni.

After finding the crystallized Eclipsa, she willingly freed her from her prison earlier than her older self would've done. She'd have _alot_ to explain...

_Puffy, 2013_

The remaining Amazons and Meta Knight creeped past the cell from Reala, which he got in after being judged by his crimes and exiled again, for real, from his homeworld of Nightmare in the Night Dimension. The group stops next to a pillar meters away from another room.

"That's Tikal.", Meta Knight said, pointing at his Mobian ex-girlfriend.

"Okay, I think I got a plan.", Cornet began. "You go talk to her and we'll...extract the Reality Stone, somehow, from her."

"Oh, I just...remembered there's a wine cellar owned by my father-"

"Hey, you drank too much!", Coraline said, trying to put conscience back on a nearly-drunk Meta Knight.

But the door opened, forcing the group to hide. They could see ladies walking along with Meta Knight's mother.

"Who's that? She dresses so fancy!", Ami said in a squee.

"It's my Mother...she dies this day.", Meta Knight explained, regret already linging in his voice.

"Really like...right now?", Coraline said, shocked.

"No...I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't be here, that was a bad idea to follow you...", Meta Knight began to panic.

"Ahem.", Coraline said, suddenly slapping Meta Knight without a hint of fear, much for the shock of the rest of the group. "You think you're the only one who lost people? You forgot why we are here in the first place? We lost a second family we got! Kebako, Ib, Liddell, the cute asian girl, all gone! Okay, I get you miss your Mom...but she'll not come back. But there's people that we just lost their conscience. You can help them. So, can you please help us get our family back?!"

"C-coraline...", Cornet said, mildly shocked over the speech.

"Alright...", Meta Knight hesitantly agreed.

"Are you...crying?", Cornet asked, more softly.

"Yes...", Meta Knight didn't even try to hide this fact.

Even with the encouragmentof the Amazons to keep himself together, and focus on the plan to get the Reality Stone, he couldn't face that moment that broke his heart. So, just following his heart, he ran away, while the Amazons were discussing about the plan. He couldn't take watching his mother die twice.


	15. 2014

_Morag, 2014_

As the ship of the Amazons of the Galaxy landed on the abandoned planet, Dipper was the first one to step down. "Okay, bring it low, right there...", Dipper began to command the landing of the ship. "Yes. Down, more down."

"Hey, can we go faster?", Tom cutted off.

"Guys, we have limited time.", Pearl reminded, right as Frisk stepped out of the ship.

"All that is really helpful.", Tom said.

"Take care, okay?", Pacifica said, as she and Mabel gave separate hugs on the white gem.

"Promised.", Pearl stated.

"Get the Stone, and don't mess anything.", Dipper reminded.

"You're the one who got this.", Tom replied.

"Lets just get this over with.", Pacifica added out.

After exchanging their last farewell's, Pearl and Tom walked back inside the ship and took off, far from the reach of Morag and to 2014's 7.200, where the would retrieve the Soul Stone. Although Frisk opened her mouth, she had nothing to say, only the hopes that their hearts wouldn't be shattered when they reached there.

"Okay so, we just wait for the pink hair, cat girl to appear and she'll guide us to the Power Stone, right?", Dipper asked.

"Let's take cover...there's more people looking for the Stones in 2014.", Frisk said, looking around carefully with her squinted eyes.

"Wait- there's someone else looking for the stones?!", Mabel asked, in shocked amazement.

"Zalgo, Chara...and me.", Frisk grimly explained.

_Meanwhile..._

The half-willingly evil Chara and brainwashed-to-be evil Frisk from the past were fighting in another planet, agains't a bunch of creatures. As Frisk got knocked down, Chara dealt with the creatures that were bothering her.

"You are welcome.", Chara said with a smirk, helping Frisk back to her feet.

"I didn't ask for help.", Frisk mildly protested.

"And yet, you need it.", Chara reminded. "Now come on, He needs up back in the ship."

"Why?"

"He found a Infinity Stone."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, on a planet called Morag."

"Your friend's plan is finally in motion!"

"But he didn't find all the Stones, Frisk."

"At least he's starting."

"If he get's all of them...", Past Chara began, only to be interrupted by the arrival of one of her closest friends; Past Zalgo, with a frame completely armored.

"Bill Cipher found the Power Stone. I'll send you two to his ship.", Zalgo stated.

"He will not like that.", Past Chara reminded off.

"Then he's in a second death wish.", Past Zalgo said, pulling his dark and blood red, gigantic, demonic-looking two sided battle axe. "His ambitions cloud his true potential."

"We will not fail you, Lord Zalgo.", Past Frisk promised, as Past Chara rolled her eyes.

"No...you won't.", Past Zalgo said, with a light hint of sarcasm.

"I swear...I promise I'll make you proud.", Past Frisk pleaded before...something strange, for the trio of the past, happened.

The past Frisk began to contort and scream in incomprehensible pain, as her halved SOUL escaped from the body and began to shake in the air. It began to replay a holographic memory from miles and miles away, from her future counterpart, before shrinking back into her body, giving her time to recover from the pain.

"Who was that?", Past Chara asked, remembering vividly about the brown-haired boy.

"I don't know what's happening...oh, my head...", Past Frisk said, hugging her knees pathetically. Chara wanted so much to comfort her, but before she could step forward, Zalgo brought the tip of his axe to her forehead, threatening to give her a painful death.

"...bring her to my ship.", Past Zalgo demanded.


	16. That's Mobius Butt

The NiGHTS from the present flied around her original tower, and managed to spot the back of a moment she kind of treasured inside her mind: the original members of the Multiverse Initiative surrounding Reala, with Tom aiming literal fire to his face.

"Got to hustle, Soni. Things look a bit fine up here.", NiGHTS informed.

"Got it! Coming to the elevator!", Sonic said, sneakily walking towards the elevator.

"If it's all the same to you...sister, I'd like to have one of your Blue Chips now.", the past Reala said, still calmly accepting defeat and not choking when referring to past NiGHTS as a legit sister. And this past NiGHTS still happily smirked.

"Phew, brother, took us a while to catch you and stop your madness.", Past NiGHTS said, before directing her voice to Past Sonic. "By the way, you're welcome to clean stuff."

"Mr. Fast...excuse my French, but, did something happen to your butt these days?", NiGHTS said, pointing at Past Sonic's back.

"Nobody cares.", Sonic said, with a cringe face.

"But it's ridiculous now...", NiGHTS whispered.

"Nah, it's fine, Sonic. As far I'm concerned, that's Mobius' butt.", Giana said, doing a exaggerated, Americal patriotic salute.

"Uhm, where are we gonna put this scepter?", past Pearl asked to the past NiGHTS.

"STRIKE will get it.", past NiGHTS explained, right as a team of EM that, in that time was known as a part of SHIELD, came in.

"We can take that from your hands.", one of the higher-ranking EM agents said, taking Reala's scepter from past Pearl in a kind of rude way.

"Please, be careful with it.", past Pearl advised.

"Unless you want your brain really, _really_ messed up.", past Tom added out.

"We will promise.", the same agent said.

"Who the heck are them?", Giana asked, full of curiosity.

"They're from E.M but...at the time, we though the were on SHIELD's side.", NiGHTS explained the whole story in one, short sentence.

"It took you guys a long while to realize that?!", Giana, said, indignant. "That's "duh" visible!"

"You are shorter than me but louder. Congrats.", NiGHTS said with a frown.

"On the way to coordinate search and rescue.", the past Sonic said.

"On the way to coordinate search and rescue!", past Reala said, in a mocking, 90's radical hero kind of tone, as he took the form but not the color of Sonic for a short while. "I mean, that's a bit of..."

"Shut your mouth.", past Meta Knight demanded, slapping a metal device that covered Reala's mouth entirely.

"Good luck, Giana.", NiGHTS said.

"I'm gonna need it!", Giana said, eating a half bite of a gray bubblegum that made her invisible once she popped a bubble, so she could follow the 2012 Multiverse Initiative and see what was going on.

The entire group entered inside a elevator...except Mewberty, who found out she couldn't fit in thanks to her arms and large wings.

"Wow, wow, wow! Calm down, Girl! Not enough space here for a Mewman in Mewberty.", past NiGHTS tried to explain.

"Take the stairs.", past Tom recommended.

"Yeah.", past NiGHTS said, as she and Reala waved bye-bye to a angry-looking Mewberty. "Wait, WAIT!"

Sadly, it was too late to make Mewberty back up from six punches that made a dent in the wall where the elevator door was in.

"Stupid stairs, stupid NiGHTS...", past Mewberty said like a child having a tantrum, as she flied away.

"Okay, Soni, the scepter in the elevator is just passing 80th floor!", NiGHTS informed.

"I'm already heading to it!", Sonic said, dashing in his speed of sound to the elevator, to NiGHTS' lower than mild shock.

…

Sonic walked out of the elevator with a sly smirk and the scepter in hand, proud that he managed to trick the agents just by leaning into their semi-leader's ear and whisper their catchphrase, "Hail the Eggman Empire".

Sadly, the part of NiGHTS and Giana's plan to take the blue gem failed miserably, because while the past Sammy Lawrence was talking to past Meta Knight and NiGHTS, hell broke loose when the effects of the invisibility bubblegum ended, turning the group's whole attention to her and forcing her to play a wild card: snatch past NiGHTS' red Ideya shard out of her chest to knock her unconscious "pacifically".

And when they at least got the case, they lost it because of a Mewberty in-maturely pissed at stairs. The whole room got scared of the insect girl's rampage, except Reala, who managed to grab the blue gem and go away, to another time...do what, exactly? Maybe we will know someday. Thankfully, Giana dropped the red Ideya, making past Meta Knight cure past NiGHTS from the unconsciousness before noticing the lake of case, and lack of Reala. Now, back to Sonic,

"Ugh...NiGHTS, can you hear me? Tell me you found the blue gem!", Sonic said, having trouble with his communicator, and groaning. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me!"

"I have eyes on Reala, 14th floor.", his 2012's self suddenly said, sort of uncertain, as he came in the room.

"I'm not Reala, and I don't wanna fight!", Sonic said, putting the case with the scepter down. But it was fruitless.

Soon, the only thing that was visible in the room for most of the time was two equal blue blurs clashing agains't each other near equally, which was a shocking surprise for the actual Sonic, because he knew the past Sonic just got out of saving his world from a demonic invasion.

"I can do this all day.", past Sonic boasted.

"Yeah, I get it...", Sonic said, kind of bored of the catchphrase, before continuing the fight.

But shortly, in the middle of the brawl, Sonic's locket of his group of friends felt out.

"Where did you get that?!", past Sonic demanded, choking the current Sonic.

"Bismuth...is...alright!", Sonic resorted.

"_What_?!"

Current Sonic took the chance of the moment of shock to knock his own past self to unconsciousness, get up and stare at him. And...actually, he couldn't agree even more with NiGHTS and Giana.

"That's Mobius' butt...", Sonic mouthed.


	17. Help from a Queen of Dark

It took alot of her limited time to explain to Eclipsa what happened, what she would experience, what would happen, and it did work, making her strike the same good relationship she had with the original Queen of Darkness from Mewni. But, there was a catch: Star Butterfly couldn't get the Time Stone out of her. No matter how much she pleaded.

"Sorry Star...but I really can't help you. I'll doom this Reality if I give the Time Stone to help yours.", old Eclipsa grimply explained.

"That's...not how it actually works.", Star tried to explain, but was silently cut off when Eclipsa created a projection that simulated time.

"The Infinity Stones create the flow of time as you know it. Even one lost Stone can make the flow disappear.", Eclipsa explained, the projection grew a big, black steam. "This will make your reality better, but the new one won't. In this brand new Reality, without a weapon agains't the forces of evil, life will suffer. You really think your way works on that?"

"No, but we can fix it.", Star boldly said. "Because once we are done using the Stones, we cna give them back to their timelines. So, it will never have left."

"But you'll have to survive.", Eclipsa reminded.

"We will...I will. I promise."

"I can't risk this Reality; whoever has the Time Stone must protect it with their life."

"Then, why Garnet gave the Stone away?"

"W-wha...", Eclipsa began to babble, in a mix of shock over someone casually mentioning giving a powerful, universe-creating stone away, and unawareness of the purple gem that became the de-facto leader of the Crystal Gems.

"Garnet, a Crystal Gem, who's also a protector, gave it away. To Zalgo.", Star explained.

"Willingly?"

"Yes."

"...Why?"

"I don't know...I don't know if she did the right thing."

"She did.", Eclipsa said with a wise, calm smile, as she handed the Time Stone willingly. "Garnet must be a good leader. And guardian."

"She indeed is, then.", Star half-realized and half-explained, with a smile. "Thank you."

"Star Butterfly, I'm counting on you. No- the multiverse is.", Eclipsa corrected herself.


	18. Reunited

_7.200, 2014_

The 2014 versions of Zalgo, Frisk, Chara and Wizeman the Wicked were in the snow-like desolated world, trying to check on what just happened with their brainwashed comrade.

"Show the memories of her SOUL.", Zalgo tasked Wizeman.

"It seems like...the memories don't belong to her. But they are still from someone like her.", Wizeman concluded, lifting Frisk's SOUL with one of his hand's eyeballs. "_Another_ Frisk."

"Impossible.", Chara already stated.

"And this seems like it came from nine years in the future.", Wizeman continued.

"Where is the Other Frisk?", Zalgo asked, now mildly interested in knowing what was going on.

"In Morag, right on our solar system."

"Can you get to her?"

"The two share a link, so...of course."

"Search for Infinity Stones on the duplicate's memories."

Chara was too confused, over two Frisks (or, like Zalgo tried to justify to her, the same Frisk, just from different times) sharing a batch of memories. Frisk talking to foreign creatures, planning something...the Multiverse Initiative, as Zalgo knew. Unruly wretches. And now, he wanted to see all she saw.

_Puffy, 2013_

Meta Knight still run, emotions of raw panic ruling his judgment. He just wanted to be far from that horrible nasty memory of his-

"What are you doing?", his Mother, from the past, suddenly asked, interrupting his run. "...you were not the best sneaker of all time."

"I-i was just going for a walk.", Meta Knight shyly lied, as his Mother approached him.

"What are you wearing?", Mother asked. "What's wrong with your eyes?...you're not the "Meta Knight" I know at all, are you?"

"...n-no. I am from the future. Definitively.", Meta Knight finally exploded, but not exploded fully into tears yet. "I really need to talk to you."

"Of course, we can. The future was too harsh on you, after all.", Mother said, hugging her beloved son.

_After explaining..._

"He felt to the ground, all bloody...but what was the point? We were too late. We were just standing there, some idiots with swords."

"You aren't a idiot.", Mother assured. "You're here, are you not? Seeking words from the wisest person in Puffy."

"Of course."

"Idiot? No...a failure? Of course."

"That was a bit harsh to insert on words."

"You understand what it makes you one of? A piece of everyone eles."

"I am...supposed to be like them?"

"Everyone fails at which role they are in, son. The measure of a actual hero is how they succeed at being themselves."

"I really missed your words...Mother."

"META, WE GOT IT!", Coraline's voice ringed in the air.

"Get the girls!", a soldier from Puffy screamed.

"Mother, I've got to warn you of...", Meta Knight tried to warn her of her incoming death, feeling he had a chance to at least create a better timeline to his past self, only to be simply shushed.

"You don't need too. You're here to fix your future, not mine.", Mother said.

"But right now it's about your future!..."

"None of my business."

"So you are Mom after all.", Coraline concluded. "I got the gem. We gotta go now, let's go."

"I wish we had just a little bit more time.", Meta Knight softly said.

"No, our time was a precious gift...and you didn't earn your title by being who you are right now. Please, show everyone why you're the Mightiest.", Mother said.

"I love you, Mother."

"I love you...and stop drinking."

"Please, _we need to go_.", Cornet said, nearly grabbing Meta Knight's hand, before he suddenly whipped it off.

"Wait, I need to test something.", Meta Knight explained, before scretching his hand.

"It...takes a second, most of the time.", his mother explained, right before the old version of Meta Knight's sword, Galaxia, came to his hand, still as shiny and beautiful as he remembered.

"I'm still worthy.", Meta Knight said, happily.

_Morag, 2014_

Everything still happpened, in motion with the original day on the prime timeline that marked the origin of the Amazons of the Galaxy: Kebako Quill still danced too and sang "Come And Get Your Love", but...from the perspective of the time traveler's group of Dipper, Mabel, Pacifica and Frisk, the scene was downright ridiculous.

"She is...a idiot.", Dipper commented.

"Yeah...it's probably for her best.", Frisk agreed, but softening the blow.

Mabel was the one to knock past Kebako down to the ground, while Frisk stole a tool from her pocket.

"What is this fancy schmancy thing?", Mabel cheekily asked.

"The tool of a chief.", Frisk simply answered, using the tool to open the door to the temple of the Orb, also known as the Powe Stone. But before she could step in, she was stopped by Pacifica.

"Wow, wow, wow! Wait! This is probably like one of those old movies where arrows suddenly will shoot at us and rocks will crush us-"

"What?", Frisk innocently asked.

"It's a temple, guarding a powerful artifact.", Pacifica tried to explain. "They probably set a bunch of traps-"

For the Northwest's surprise, Frisk just negatively shaked her head before stepping in with Dipper and Mabel, forcing Pacifica to reluctantly come along. But for her double surprise, in fact, there was no traps to prevent them from getting the Orb, only the force field of pure energy. Which Frisk destroyed one of her hands to cross, making her raw Determination create a new one.

"I wasn't always like this.", Frisk lamented.

"Neither me.", Dipper replied, able to sympathize with her over a lost body part. "But we use our best remnants."

"Sync up!", Mabel announced, making everyone suit up. "Three, two, one!"

However, only her, her twin brother, and her rich rival turned ally and friend, got transported back to the future. Frisk was left behind, whimpering in pain.

…

"_You traumatized trillions!"_

"_You should be happy you're okay."_

"_Tell us where the stones are!"_

"_Reduced to dust."_

"_T-that doesn't make sense! How did you use them two days ago, then?"_

"_I used them...to destroy them. As incredible as it sounds, I nearly died...but now, the work is done. And it will be always be done. I am...inevitable."_

"What you did to them?", past Chara, reluctantly, but curiously, asked.

"Nothing...yet.", past Zalgo analyzed. "They're not trying to stop something I'll do in our time. They're trying to reverse what I already did in theirs."

"The stones...", past Chara gasped.

"I found them all. I won.", past Zalgo smirked. "Enacted my revenge on the multiverse just like I desired.", he continued, gently petting past Chara in the head as she knelt.

"This is your future.", past Wizeman said.

"It's my destiny.", past Zalgo added, before past Wizeman resumed to play the memory from the future Frisk, invading their Frisk's head and SOUL.

"_He is one of, the most vile things in the multiverse, if not _the_ one. But he has the honor to never lie."_

"_Ah...thank you, Frisk. Perhaps I treated you too harshly...and never properly brought you back to your true family."_

_[Two male voices scream, in primal rage.] [STAB!]_

The past Chara stood up, in shock, over seeing her friend get stabbed in his soft spot: his seventh mouth, the one who always refused to be open...for some reason.

"And that, is destiny fulfilled.", past Zalgo non-chalantly said.

"Sire, our apparent ally...proved herself to be a traitor.", past Wizeman said, trapping past Frisk in magic chains.

"That's not me! It can't be me...I would never...ever...betray you.", past Frisk tried to plead for mercy, and surprisingly...it was answered. Zalgo actually freed her fromt he chains, and held her chin in his fingers, in a fatherly way.

"I know...and you have a chance to prove it.", past Zalgo agreed.

…

"No...he knows!", Frisk cried, realizing she was now trapped in the past, forced to share a half-broken SOUL in sync with her past self. In a last resort, she tried to call for help. "Lucitor! LUCITOR! Come in! Pearl, guys, please help me, we got a problem! We have a prob...lem...Zalgo knows. Zalgo..."


	19. A Risk

After...essentialy defeating himself, Sonic jumped out of the building with a swift landing, the scepter in hand. However, seeing NiGHTS and Giana, and learning about their failure to get the blue gem, made the trio realize that each one of them had only one particle each...and that meant: either they got home with one Stone missing, or got even further back in time, unable to go home.

But the purple jester had a plan to gather more particles and get the blue gem as well, this time with no interruptions. 1970. And Giana would go back to her future.

_Winchester, 1970_, _after NiGHTS and Sonic separated..._

"Gotcha.", NiGHTS softly said, grabbing the blue gem contained in a glass cage. "Back in the game."

"Excuse me?", a male voice said, forcing NiGHTS to turn around and find out they were the parents for her future first best friends; Mr. Taylor and Ms. Cartwright. "We are looking for a certain doctor. You saw him."

"Nnnnno. Absolutely not.", NiGHTS awkwardly said.

"Pardon us but...we know you?", Ms. Cartwright asked.

"No, lady and gentleman. I...am a visitor here.", NiGHTS lied.

"You got a name?", Mr. Taylor asked.

"D-DaYS. The name is DaYS."

"Well, you can call us Mr. Taylor and Ms. Cartwright.", Mr. Taylor presented himself and his friend. "You're looking a little...green for someone who looks strong, DaYS."

"I'm okay, it's just been a...long while.", "DaYS" (aka a lying NiGHTS) protested.

"Wanna get some air?", Ms. Cartwright offered.

"Of course, that sounds marvelous.", NiGHTS said, wondering for how long she would be able to pull off the facade.

_Later..._

"So...you both got plans for kids in the future.", NiGHTS asked, trying to sound the most casual she could. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, please hold this.", Mr. Taylor said, giving a briefcase to the jester.

"So, you have any plans for your kids?", NiGHTS asked again.

"I don't know...besides, teaching our talents to them.", Ms. Cartwright replied.

"I'm actually helping the caretaking of a girl.", NiGHTS said, narrowly avoiding messing this version of 1970 by mentioning the two's future son and daughter.

"A girl is nice...but there is a chance she will disappoint me.", Ms. Cartwright pointed out.

"But what's awful about that?"

"Let's just say I wouldn't have time for my kid, and her the opposite.", Mr. Taylor explained.

"You got any...names?", NiGHTS curiously asked.

"I'd love a Jade girl." "I prefer Albert, if he was a boy."

"I...actually am curious about one thing.", Ms. Cartwright stated. "When the kid was born...were you nervous?"

"Yup.", NiGHTS replied, with no reluctance.

"You felt you could help? You were actually good on operating the job?"

"I tried to be a mother- well, adoptive aunt my friend's parents could never be...like my own Dad could never be. My old man was far from being the best, and I'm happy I never got in good terms with him anymore. But my first friend's parents...they were flawed, sure, but they gave good stuff for them. And maybe for me as well. They did their best."

"Our children aren't even here, and there is nothing we wouldn't do for them.", Mr. Taylor said, sympathetically. "It was nice to meet you, DaYS."

"Yes, Mr. Taylor.", NiGHTS said. "Oh! And one more thing...maybe, when your kids grow up just a little bit, they might have their dreams realized by someone that looks like me. Keep that in mind."

_2014_

"You're weak."

"But I am you!", Frisk replied agains't herself, while trying to fight off her grasp as the two fought, only to be punched hard in the cheek by her past self. Then, the past Chara came in to witness the fight. "You know you wanna stop this; did you see what happened? What Zalgo did to get the Soul Stone? How it happened? How he treated you?!"

"Shut up. But...you're not entirely useless.", past Frisk said, before her black, wide eyes with glowing pupils suddenly took the normal, squinted look from the true Frisk within. "How do I look?"


	20. Do it for Her

_7.200, 2014_

Finally, after a long travel, they reached the dreaded place where the Soul Stone resided: the crpytic 7.200.

"Okay...that would be totally cool in a different context.", Tom commented with a hint of a smile, as he and Pearl began to walk to and climb the snowy mountain of the place.

"At least the girls didn't have to climb the mountain.", Pearl pointed out in the middle of the walk...that was interrupted when they were greeted by a certain figure with a brown, big moustache, and covered in a hoodie.

"Welcome.", Eggman's voice ringed in the air, making Pearl and Tom snap into their agressive stances. "Pearl, sole confidant of Rose Quartz. Tom Lucitor, King of the Underworld."

"Who are you?", Pearl said, barely recognizing the first enemy of Sonic's heroic life.

"Consider me a guide. To you, and any being that seeks the Soul Stone.", Eggman eerily replied.

"Okay. Tell us where it is...and we are in our way.", Pearl said, in a more friendly and polite tone.

"It's not as easy as it sounds.", Eggman said, very straightforward, before guiding the duo to the cliff. "What you seek is right in front of you...as is one of your greatest fears."

"But...it's the Stone.", Pearl tried to point out, only to be ignored.

"For one of you...", Eggman explained. "In order to have this Stone, you must lose someone you love. A soul in the place of a soul."

_Later..._

The price just for the Soul Stone sounded too crazy to work. So, Pearl simply sitted on the ground, while Tom watched Eggman, the Stonekeeper, trying to find hints of a lying villain, only to find...none.

"He gotta be making stuff up.", Tom said, in disbelief.

"No. I think he told the truth.", Pearl solemly said.

"Why? Because he know your old master's name?"

"It's not just that. Zalgo left with the Stone, but without his beloved friend. It's not a coincidence."

"...yeah."

"Whatever it takes."

"Whatever it takes.", Tom recluctantly agreed, as Pearl got up.

"If we don't get the Stone, trillions of forms will still be corrupted."

"Then I guess we know who's gonna be the one."

"I guess we do.", Pearl agreed, as Tom held into her hand like a scared son in need of comfort, and looked at her with his trio of eyes.

"Pearl...I think we were different people here."

"For the five past years, I was trying to do one thing I failed: save the day. That was all it was about. Try to bring everybody back."

"Don't lie and go decent."

"You think I wanna do it? I'm trying to save your life!"

"I don't wanna you doing that...Pearl, you know what I did. You know what I became."

"I can't judge people based on their mistakes."

"You should do that."

As the two leaned their heads agains't eachother, suddenly, Tom sucker-punched Pearl down to the ground, smirking.

"Tell my family I loved them.", Tom said.

"You tell them by yourself!", Pearl replied, still determined to save her friend's life, knocking down Tom to the ground.

Soon, it became a small fight to determine who was gonna fall to their death and who was going to come out with the Soul Stone. Pearl threw a blast of light from her spear agains't Tom and ran towards the cliff before being stopped by a fireball. He jumped to the cliff, but was stopped when Pearl pulled him back by his collar, now in a position to clearly fall...if Tom letted her go.

"NO!", Tom screamed.

"Let me go.", Pearl softly demanded.

"No, I won't.", Tom refused.

"It's okay.", Pearl said, with a last, sad smile.

"Please...", Tom pleaded, hoping that she would come back, allow him to die in her place.

But she didn't.

She actually felt, faceplant on the ground, which caused her physical form to poof and her gem...to shatter. In three, triangular pieces. He made sure to levitate those pieces back to him before being magically transported to the place where he directly got the Soul Stone. He could just cry, confused and lost, as his suit activated, transporting him and his remnants of Pearl back to the present.

"_Present" day_

Everyone in the separate groups came back, to be greeted by Steven and Amethyst, who were taking care of keeping the thing in place.

"So, did you get 'em all?", Amethyst asked.

"I...guess.", Star Butterfly said, un-cupping her hand to reveal the green Time Stone.

"Are you guys sure this is gonna work?", Dipper asked, skeptical, before the whole group realized...someone was missing.

"Tom, where the heck is Pearl?", Star asked, with squinted, untrustful eyes to her ex.

Tom, with no words, opened his own cupped hands to reveal his mission was completed, but with a dire cost. In his hand, was the shining, orange Soul Stone, but also the three shard from Pearl's pinkish-white gem, which made Steven scream in grief and horror at the same time, and made Star a grieving mess pounding agains't the ground, while bringing dread silence to everyone else.

_Later..._

In the lakeside of the Multiverse Initiative's HQ, the remaining older members of the team (NiGHTS, Sonic, Meta Knight, Tom and Star Butterfly) mourned their fallen friend and ally, while the cries of Steven and Amethyst together, coming inside the HQ, just stabbed their hearts further with grief.

"She had a family...", NiGHTS sadly said.

"Yeah. The Crystal Gems. And us.", Sonic added.

"What?", Meta Knight cried in confusion.

"He just said a truth.", NiGHTS tried to explain.

"You're acting like she's...gone forever.", Meta Knight pointed. "Why we are acting she's gone forever? Sonic, can't her own kind-of son cure her back with his tears inside of sealing her in a bubble? Or even better, Tom? Or even better, we could use the stones. Let's keep it together; we are the flippin' _Multiverse Initiative_."

"No. Let's give her a break.", Tom refused.

"W- what?", Meta Knight reacted with shock.

"Also, if we undo it, we might lose the Stone."

"Ha-ha-ha. I'm sorry to offend you, but you're very accepting of death. I know you're from a Underworld, but we have _too many_ chances of ressurection. Accept "_Let's give her a break_" sounds untypical."

"I know...but it was supposed to be me.", Tom said, his initial, visible anger replaced by grief. "She bet her freakin' probably-eternal life for a single Stone."

Suddenly, Star Butterfly's eyes took the glowy heart form from the old, savage Mewberty, as she screamed and used her six hands to throw a bench towards a very far part from the lake. However, the anger quickly transformed into grief again, turning her eyes back to normal as she faced the group with teary eyes.

"We will not make her sacrifice in vain, guys.", Star said, choking tears.

"We will not. We will make it worthy.", Sonic agreed, determined.

_In the Multiverse Initiative's laboratory..._

NiGHTS and Steven carefully inserted the Stones on the former's self-made gauntlet, colored in purple, yellow and pink. Star and the remaining Amazons watched apprehensively until the last stone was inserted in.

"BOOM!", Yumi suddenly cried, making NiGHTS and Star startle in surprise. She snickered once they felt for her joke.

Soon, everyone began to gather around the finished, NiGHTS-made gauntlet.

"Okay, the big glove is done but...who's gonna use it?", Coraline asked, fearful.

"I volunter.", Meta Knight offered.

"Oi?", Giana cried in disbelief.

"It's fine.", Meta Knight assured. Thankfully, the whole group began to hold up Meta Knight before he could lay one of his hands on the gauntlet.

"Woah woah, hang on, Meta! We didn't decide that straight on!", Sonic said.

"Yeah, discussion first.", Giana suggested.

"Look, sitting here and glaring at this gauntlet won't bring the other half back to normal.", Meta Knight said, getting a slight hint of red on his glowy yellow eyes. "I'm the most powerful one of the group, so, it's my destiny and duty do this."

"I'm sorry Knight...", NiGHTS apologized, as Meta began to tear up. "But you don't seem to be in conditions good enough to handle that."

"Next candidate?", Pacifica said, already getting bored of the discussion.

"Me.", Star Butterfly offered, finally making Meta Knight let go of NiGHTS. "You guys saw what the Stone did to Zalgo. He, one of the strongest demons, nearly didn't survive. And neither can you guys."

"Are you sure you can?", Sonic questioned.

"Nope. But the radiation is gamma, the thing that kept us together. It's like I...am technically the girl for the job.", Star Butterfly explained, while picking the gauntlet with her lower set of arms. Sadly, none of the group could notice the 2014 Frisk, that sneaked in and took the place of the original Frisk, activating the portal.

"Are you good to go?", NiGHTS kind of worriedly asked.

"Yeah, let's go!", Star Butterfly said.

"Remember", NiGHTS began. "Just cure everyone and everything Zalgo corrupted five years ago and get them back to normal. Don't change any event."

"Got it.", Star Butterfly said, as everybody began to prepare for whatever was about to happen, and she prepared to put the gauntlet. "Half of the multiverse, back to normal.", she stated to herself before finally sliding the gauntlet in one of her upper hands.

She screamed, feeling too much power taking over her mind, her body...everything. Despite the worry of her older teammates, however, she managed to pull this off in the middle of immense pain brought by the gauntlet...and snapped her fingers, with one goal.

_Cure half of the multiverse from Zalgo's corruption._


	21. Portals

Once the blinding light was gone, Star Butterfly fainted and felt to the ground, letting the gauntlet slip off from her hand. Tom kicked it away out of fear as the rest of the group began to check on her.

"Star!", Sonic desperately cried.

"Wait, don't touch her!", NiGHTS suggested in a rushed tone.

"D-did it work?", Star asked, grasping to Sonic with two of her right arms.

"Worth a shot.", Meta Knight said, midly unsure, before turning his focus in comforting Star over the pain she had to face. "It's over...it's ok."

Giana, too curious to see if it really worked, decided to go outside and spot a certain part of the terrain that used to be corrupted with a black goo, and tentacles sticking out like they were ready to grab the unlucky soul that was curious enough to get near it. For her shock, it was disappearing. Judging by Tom's audible happiness, the living victims also were getting back to normal.

"WOOHOO! It actually worked, guys!", Giana cheered.

But it was too late to cheer, as they had a big threat right above them. The Sanctuary II ripped the sky and shooted a missile that blew Giana away. Then, multiple missiles flew, destroying the base and sinking the gang to the underground. Star held out most of the debrees threatening to crush her teammates, while the Amazons were stuck on some of them.

"I can't breath! I can't breath! I can't breath!", Coraline desperately cried as she tried to get out.

"Nope. Out of suit.", Dipper said, as he, Pacifica and Mabel got out of their damaged suits.

"Guys and Girls! Get the heck outta here!", Star pleaded, as the War Trio tried to help the Amazons escape off the debrees.

"Please, hurry up!", Cornet cried.

When they finally got off, everybody breathed in relief. Sadly, that didn't allow them to pay attention to Star's cry of warning, and a flood began to engulf them. Giana was the only one nearby to answer the call of help.

Meanwhile, in the sewer system, Tom ignited a flame in his hand to look around and see what was going on.

"Sonic?", he tried to call out.

Thankfully, he realized he had the gauntlet with him, still. Unfortunately, he realized...that there was a dark, demonic bunch of hordes to make company in the tunnel with him.

"Crap.", Tom said under his breath, before taking the gauntlet and running to the direction opposite to the army.

In the surface, the Sanctuary II beamed 2014 Zalgo to the ground, allowing the same year's Frisk to meet up with him.

"Dear.", Zalgo greeted his soldier.

"Yes, master? So...this is the future. Well done.", past Frisk said, shifting her eyes back to their wide-open, creepy shape. "Thank you. They didn't suspect a thing."

The past Zalgo planted his demonic axe on the ground and took his helmet, placing it on the top of the axe's handle.

"The arrogant are blinded.", Zalgo stated. "Now, please find the stones for me."

"And what will you do?", past Frisk asked.

"Wait.", Zalgo said and, although a little bit annoyed, past Frisk didn't speak agains't it, and went to find the Stones by herself.

Suddenly, something strange happened to past Chara, who was about to go in her way to ask something to the actual Frisk. A SOUL shard, extremely similar to hers, appeared. The other half of Frisk's SOUL but...slightly tainted in black. Curious to test it, she emoved her own SOUL and allowed the other one to enter inside her.

Her consciousness, personality...memories...were all different now. Now, she was still physically the Chara from 2014, but internally, she was the original Chara, who everyone though that died from sure when Zalgo sacrificed her. But her SOUL was trapped in her original timeline until the stone was destroyed.

"Come on.", she said, extending her hand to Frisk, who was shocked. "It's really me. We gotta stop him, and I got alot to explain."

…

"Come on...wake up, buddy!", NiGHTS said to a unconscious Sonic in the ground. "Don't you dare get sleepy on me here."

"W-what happened?", Sonic asked after jolting back to unconsciousness.

"Well, we messed with time and it's biting us.", NiGHTS replied.

Soon, NiGHTS, Sonic the Hedgehog and Meta Knight look to discover that the Zalgo from 2014, who learnt about the success of his plan the Multiverse Initiative's equally successful attempt to reverse, arrived on their Earth.

"What he's doing?", NiGHTS questioned.

"Nothing.", Meta Knight answered.

"Where are the Stones?", it was Sonic's turn to ask.

"Somewhere in this mess.", NiGHTS answered, unsure. "At least he doesn't have them."

"Let's keep it like that.", Sonic said, cracking his fists, determined.

"This is a trap.", Meta Knight pointed out, ironically careful.

"Nope, don't care.", NiGHTS said, getting as equally determined as her hedgehog ally and frenemy.

"Okay, as long as we all agree.", Meta Knight agreed, before summoning both his part of the Twin Overlord and the Galaxia from 2013. "Let's give him a proper ending."

The trio went together to face the younger version of the demon that tormented their lives, took everything they loved and half of the group of universes they were supposed to protect. They knew they weren't really enough to kill him, but they had to try.

"You couldn't live with your failure. And where that path took you? Back to me.", 2014 Zalgo coldly taunted them. "I thought if I corrupted half the multiverse, the other half would understand, be kinder to me. But you showed me that's impossible. As long as they lose something they love, there will always be those who are unable to accept reality. Those who resist."

"Yup. We're all stubborn.", NiGHTS agreed with no reluctance.

"I'm thankful. Because now, i understand what I must do. I'll destroy the multiverse down to it's last world.", past Zalgo continued, standing up and putting on his helmet. "And then...with the Stones you bought for me, create one. That accepts me, that doesn't know the process, only the result. A grateful universe."

"Born out of blood!", Sonic angrily pointed out.

"They'll never understand it. 'Cause none of you will be able to tell them.", Zalgo said, in a cruel, cold voice, before being attacked by NiGHTS and Meta Knight together.

Meanwhile, Giana tried to rescue the War Trio and the Amazons of the Galaxy from the flood, and Tom still ran from the invasors with the new Infinity Gauntlet on his hands, until he spotted 2014 Frisk, whom he still thought to be the actual Frisk.

"Oh, hey...nice to see you.", Tom said, in a calmer and chillier tone, handing the gauntlet to her.

"Zalgo...I have the stones.", past Frisk announced.

"WHAT?!", Tom cried in disbelief, right as the actual Chara and Frisk busted in.

"Stop.", Chara demanded.

"You're betraying us?", past Frisk cried in disbelief.

"She's not the Chara you know anymore...", Frisk announced. "But we can end this pacifically."

"No...we can't.", past Frisk refused.

"Yes, we can. She is right.", Chara said. "Please, listen to her."

"Yes, you can change. You are me. Please, break free from this.", Frisk pleaded harder. "This is not your mind, you are brainwashed."

"He won't let me.", past Frisk explained, before drawing a sword made out of her SOUL's determination on Chara.

But before she could kill her a second time, Frisk regretfully but immediately jumped in and stabbed her past self in the heart, as she cried one single, black tear. When her SOUL came out, she stabbed it to pieces, so she could never come back, allowing Tom to pick the new Infinity Gauntlet safely.

Unfortunately, in the three-on-one battle on the surface, there was no luck for the heroes. NiGHTS and Meta Knight's attempt at a collaborative attack were twarted by Zalgo, resulting in the jester losing her consciousness, and the Knight of Dreamland was overpowered, and about to be killed by the sword forged to kill Zalgo. But before it could happen, Galaxia began to float off from the ground, hitting Zalgo in the process before coming back to it's new owner..._Sonic the Hedgehog_.

"I knew it!", Meta Knight cried in joy, before getting kicked away by 2014 Zalgo, who proceeded to battle Sonic.

Despite not using a sword that often, Sonic was already mastering it and using it well along with his speed, holding easily agains't Zalgo with summoned thunders. But when Zalgo removed his helmet, he used it to stab Sonic's leg and knock Galaxia out of his hand. He used his demonic axe to create a nasty dent on his speed shoes and threw him across the battlefield. The injuries made the hedgehog actually struggle to get up.

"In all my years of conquest...violence...slaughter...none of it was out of hate.", past Zalgo stated. "But I'll tell you now...what I'll do to your stubborn...stupid little worlds...I'll enjoy it. Very, very much.", he finished, cruelty and venom dipping in his voice as he smiled sadistically.

When Sonic finally got up, he was not only facing past Zalgo, but his entire armada, ready to destroy the Multiverse. He was determined, but outnumbered...if he had to go down, he preffered doing it with a fight. It seemed hope for the Multiverse was over, and it, now, had to accept and bow down to a new ruler.

...that is...until a crackling came on his communicator.

"Sonic, can you hear me?", a familiar, girl teenager sounding voice Sonic didn't hear in five years said, and he looked around, feeling sure he heard a ghost. "Sonic, it's Lapis. Can you hear me? _On your left_."

Sonic was sure a prank was being played on him, bu he still turned to his left. There was a yellow portal forming and..._oh my god...is that really...?_ was everything on his mind.

It was actually them. His friends and allies Tails, Ly and Rayman, okay and ready for a fierce fight. They shared a look like as Knuckles came in five of the seven Chaos Emeralds, and Lapis soared on the sky with her water wings. More and more portals popped in the sky, bathing the battlefield in a hopeful, golden light for the heroes...that didn't really please Zalgo.

On one of these, Garnet descended it, visor-less at first, before summoning her pair of visors and her gauntlets. Liddell and Pucca joined in, along with their leader, Kebako, who de-summoned her single-eye holographic visor. Then, Cream the Rabbit and Cheese came in through the former's parasol hook. She looked alot more hopeful and shiny than when she lost her consciousness, and age didn't seem to hit her, along with everybody else.

The previous heroes overlooked in shock as Rayman began to chant, summoning the army of Teensies from his homeworld. The portals now was taking armies to the battlefield: the Delta Warriors, Lancer and Roulx came back with the army of Darkners, Dedede came in with Waddle Dees, the Halberd came in with the Meta-Knights. Amy Rose landed next to the Darkners, her two Chaos Emeralds and Piko Piko Hammer prepared.

The ship of the Genies came in, Eclipsa and a army of Monsters and Mewmans from Mewni came in, Bismuth guided Ib through her hand, Maria came in, transforming into her own Punk form.

NiGHTS was jolted back to consciousness by Owl and...Will and Helen. Joyful to see them back, she offered both of her hands, which they all knew what meant. They held hands and did a dual dualization: two NiGHTS, controlled by different people, which shocked Steven and Amethyst, two witnesses of the scene. Meta Knight reunited with the Delta Warriors, managing to recover his Twin Overlord. They were not alone, _they had heroes to back them up!_

"Is that everyone?", Garnet calmly asked, after reuniting with Eclipsa.

"What, you wanted even more?", Eclipsa asked, mildly surprised.

Out from the rumble of the former Multiverse Initiative HQ, came a fireball, which was actually Giana in her Punk form, opening a hole. She was caught by Star Butterfly, who was also carrying the rest of the Amazons of the Galaxy, and the War Trio.

Finally, Sonic smiled in relief before turning a serious glare to the battlefield, as many, incalculable heroes joined his side. That was it, the battle to define the fate of the multiverse. It was ALL, or NOTHNG. They HAD to give their best, no matter what!

"MULTIVERSE!", Sonic screamed, before summoning Galaxia to his hand. "...assemble."


	22. Battle of the Multiverse

With a mighty warcry from Rayman, the battle to decide whenever the Multiverse was going to come unscratched, or become a hellish land under the rulership of Zalgo, began. The heroes ran together, like a band of brothers ready to save all their worlds and many more, together. The demonic army changed by the command of past Zalgo, who walked with firm, strong steps.

The two sides finally collided, and the heroes were the first ones to gain the upper hand: Punk Giana effortlessy punched down one of the gigantic, organic warships, Liddell violently (and comically) stabbbed one of the Followers of Zalgo, and the two NiGHTS teamed up in the sky.

"Uh, give me that. You have the little one.", Meta Knight said, while trading swords with Sonic.

The NiGHTS dualized with William Taylor was about to be defeated by Uramiko, along with Steven Universe and Amethyst, but the trio was saved by Cream, who used her parasol umbrella to pull the evil cat girl away and make her fall off from the sky, to be burned by Punk Giana's flames.

"Hey!", she said, trying to pull her allies back to their feet. "Guys, you won't believe what just happened. Do you remember when I was in space? And I got...weird? I might have passed out, 'cause when I woke up, you were all gone. But Garnet was there, right? She was like, "It's been five years, come on, they need us!", and she did something yellow with her fingers- what are you..."

Cream was interrupted when she and Cheese were pulled into a soft, kind "welcome back" hug from Steven, Amethyst and NiGHTS.

"Oh. This is nice.", Cream commented as she returned the hug.

Kebako fought a handful of Andinn's that tried to outnumber her, with her typical flare and confidence, until someone saved her. Someone she thought she lost for sure.

"Chara?", Kebako spoke, wide-eyed and in disbelief. "I thought I lost you."

The two _extremely_ close friends reunited in a hug. Frisk, who was there to witness, nearly thought they would actually end up kissing, but in that actually happened, she would be happy for them anyway.

"Sonic?! What the heck I should do with this thing?", Tom asked, running through the battlefield like crazy with the new Infinity Gauntlet on his hands.

"Get them far away from here!", Sonic suggested.

"No! We need to get them back where they came from!", Star Butterfly reminded.

"There's no way. Zalgo destroyed the Dream Tunnel.", NiGHTS solemly stated.

"WAIT!", Punk Giana said. "That is not our only time machine.", she continued, before calling the horn of her van.

"Hey! Does anybody see a van here?!", Sonic cried to the heroes flying up in the sky.

"Yeah! But it parked in a not-so-good-place!", Ralsei cried, his scarf pointing at a direction. Indeed, it was right deep on the side of Zalgo's army. That meant, infested with his soldiers.

"Giana, how much time you need for that to work?", NiGHTS questioned.

"Ten minutes?", Giana said, with extreme doubt.

"Get it started. We'll go get the stones.", Sonic tasked.

"We got it, Sonic!", Punk Maria said, as the two sisters, reunited, rushed across the battlefield. Meanwhile, the NiGHTS dualized with William met her second best frenemy in the middle of the war.

"Hey, you said that we win in one future out of gazillions, right?", NiGHTS said, pointing. "Tell me this is the one!"

"Sorry, but that won't be this future if I tell.", Garnet warned.

"You better be right about this, then.", NiGHTS said, mildly untrustful.

Sadly, Giana and Maria found out that the van already was destroyed by the enemies, forcing Giana to hotwire it, and Tom was the next target of the fury of Zalgo's forces, thanks to still having the Gauntlet of his hands. Thankfully, a limbless hero came to his rescue.

"Tom! Give it to me.", Rayman asked. Tom gave the Gauntlet with no argument of why, and the Limbless Wonder began to run through the calamity of the battlefield, fighting enemies to reach the

van.

Zalgo began to follow Rayman by himself, but he was stopped by a aerial presence: Amy Rose, who still remembered vividly of Peridot's demise, and was furious.

"You took...EVERYTHING, from me.", Amy in pure, cold rage, said.

"I don't even know who you are.", past Zalgo said, emotionless but actually honest.

"YOU WILL.", Amy screamed, before confronting Zalgo with her hammer, buying more time for Rayman.

Wizeman stopped Rayman's tracks, but before the new Gauntlet could be stolen, Cream picked it up swiftly, becoming the next target of the demons. Although reluctant to hurt them, she was about to order Cheese to spin like a tornado to take down them, but Steven and Amethyst came to her aid.

Meanwhile, Amy completely overtook control of Zalgo with the two Chaos Emeralds. With them, she began to crush the demon as a revenge for everything he did to her, destroying his terrifying axe, and was about to destroy his armor.

"Rain fire!", past Zalgo ordered, too desperate.

"But...our troops!", past Mary tried to protest.

"**JUST DO IT**!", Zalgo pressed.

Although reluctant, the Followers of Zalgo obeyed their master and rained missiles across the battlefield, blowing Amy Rose away before she could transform Zalgo into trash, along with the Multiverse Initiative and their allies. Eclipsa and Garnet began to focus their efforts on protecting the heroic army from the attack, and from seawater threatening to flood the battlefield.

"Is anyone eles seeing this?", Helen, from within' her NiGHTS body, asked, pointing at Cream, Cheese, Steven and Amethyst, who were outnumbered and almost overpowered by the demons.

"We got this!", Steven said, trying to calm his older allies down, but his shield got knocked down by one of them. "Just kidding! Can somebody help us, please!"

"Hey, Beach City! Step it up.", Sonic said, throwing Galaxia for the quartet to hang on too.

"Hang on! I got you, guys!", Helen said, using her dualized NiGHTS' body by shapeshifting her arms into long, strong noodles that grabbed the quartet to safety.

"Wait...two NiGHTS-", Cream was about to question, before finding herself aboard Lancer's motocycle, who was now big enough to carry him, the Delta Warriors, _and_ her along with Steven and Amethyst at the same time. "OH MY GOD!", she screamed.

As they got closer to the van, and the Multiverse Initiative's army was pinned down by the missiles...suddenly, they stopped. And just pointed at the sky.

"What the hell is this?", Lapis cried, in confusion.

"Owl, you got any idea of what that means?", the NiGHTS dualized with Will asked, as her Owl ally handed on her shoulder.

"Hoo! Seems like something is coming!", Owl pointed out.

"YEAH!", Coraline happily cried, once she realized what exactly came in: Team Marvel, riding on the Diamond's one-piece-incomplete ship.

"Hey, guys! We need some hand here!", Sonic yelled, hopefully enough, loud for them to listen.

And, in a swift move, the Sanctuary II was destroyed when the eyes of the top part fired white beams at it, much for the shock of Zalgo. Then, the ship landed, and every one of the Team Marvel group got out of it.

"H-hi, I'm Cream the Rabbit.", Cream tried to present herself for the group...but it ended up in a very shy way.

"Greetings, little one. You got something for us?", Toriel asked in her motherly tone, which was answered by Cream handing the Infinity Gauntlet to her. Sadly, members of Zalgo's army were already circling the group.

"Guys...I don't know how you'll get through all that.", Steven confessed...right as he got caught off of surprise.

"Don't worry.", Amy said.

"They've got help.", Ly stated.

Not only them, but also Helen-NiGHTS, Pucca, Tails, the Delta Warriors, Maria, Frisk, Chara and the War Trio, began to charge forward and assault Zalgo's army, creating a clean path for the Team Marvel to cross up.

The van was restored, so all the Team Marvel had to do was cross it with the Gauntlet. Zalgo tried to stop them, but Maria, Helen-NiGHTS, Tails and the War Trio opened fire to him, briefly blocking his chances. But then, he threw the tip of the remnants of his axe, destroying it and spitting the Team Marvel back up, with nobody left to protect the Gauntlet.

The effort of the two NiGHTS', along with Sonic and Meta Knight, wasn't enough to recover the Gauntlet, and once again, even though it wasn't the same Zalgo they faced at first, Zalgo had a glove of endless power in his hands.

But right after he inserted it on his hand, White Diamond picked it, and blocked any chance of him closing it. Slowly...it seemed like his fingers were actually going backwards. As the other members of Team Marvel began to charge at him in screaming, Zalgo tried to headbutt White Diamond far from him...but it was like thin air attacked her: nothing happened.

She was ready to throw her own punch, so, instead of risking getting a destroyed face, Zalgo grabbed the Power Stone out of it, and created a power blast to get everyone out of his "hair".

Will-NiGHTS began to wonder...the future sight of Garnet was false? A lie? Did the whole group mess up enough for it to happen? She looked at Garnet, searching for answers. The fusion gem slowly lifted a trembling pointer finger, forming a simple number. One.

This was the future Garnet foresaw. The definitive victory agains't Zalgo. But someone had to die for it to happen. Catching this information, NiGHTS cancelled her dualization with Will and Helen.

With pain, Zalgo inserted the Power Stone back into the Gauntlet, feeling power run through him. But NiGHTS immediately picked it and tried to pull it out, to no avail, as she was sucker punched away. Zalgo smiled, feeling his victory.

"I am...INEVITABLE.", past Zalgo boasted, and it seemed like the Multiverse was doomed for sure, as he brought his fingers for a snap..

...but nothing happened. Just a simple click.

Zalgo was confused over all of that, and turned his head to find a nasty surprise: NiGHTS managed to sneak the Infinity Stones out of hisr each, and they were now being inserted into her own hands. It hurted, so much. She was one of the strongest of her kind, and yet, holding the Stones directly on her hand's back was painful.

But she was sure that, if she died that day, her sacrifice would be for nothing. She felt her memories flashing on her eyes: her friends depended on her, her fallen friends depended on her, the WHOLE multiverse...needed to be avenged.

She just wished she could bid a proper farewell for them all. Specially her brother.

"And I...*gasp* AM..._NiGHTS_...", NiGHTS stated with her remaining breath, before snapping her fingers.


	23. Thank You, NiGHTS

For the shock of Coraline, Cornet, Rayman, Kebako and every hero on the battlefield, and the relief of Sonic, suddenly, the forces of Zalgo began to crumble away, in sparkles of dust. Zalgo watched with horror as his troops ceased to exist, and looked at Sonic, who just glared daggers at him. In his last act, Zalgo sitted down and mourned with slow, sad breaths, before crumbling to dust himself.

Finally, the menace to the Multiverse, He Who Waits Behind the Wall, the Hivemind of Chaos, was destroyed, once and for all. But at a cost.

The raw energy of the Infinity Stones cracked her hand beyond the ability to be used, but amazingly, she survived...in a very weak state, but she survived. But she felt something was not right...

The trio of some of her oldest allies, the War Trio, rushed in to check on her. Owl landed on her shoulder to check her.

"You...never faced injuries like that!", Owl said, genuinely terrified. "I'm afraid your time to be a hero is...over."

"No...fuzzy...", NiGHTS struggled to speak, but her words came like whispers.

"Ms. NiGHTS! We won!", Steven Universe said, trying to shake his mentor back to proper consciousness along with Cream. "You did it! Can you hear me...you did it, you made us win. ...I'm sorry, NiGHTS...", he softly cried, hugging NiGHTS.

"Look at us...NiGHTS, please.", Will pleaded along with Helen, turning her attention to them. "There you go."

"Thank you, NiGHTS. But...we are gonna be ok.", Helen assured.

"You can sleep.", Will added.

NiGHTS gave up and closed her blue eyes, to eternally fall asleep. While the red Ideya never lost it's glow to cement her death, it became lower, signaling that she was, at best, in a near vegetative state, which made Will and Helen lose their composition and give in to grief and cry, for the friend that made their dreams come true.

…

"_Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn't really work like that. Maybe, now it does. I'm hoping that if you play this, it's to celebrate a victory. I hope families are together again, I hope we get everything back, and a "normal" multiverse again. If we can call it normal._

_God, it's so many worlds, and in the past, we used to think there was only one: our own. If you told me ten years ago to those universes they weren't the only ones, I don't know. I would be shocked. But come on, you understand? The forces of evil and good came to play. And, no matter if it's good or bad, Zoe will have to learn to survive in this world, somehow._

_So I thought I should record a greeting!...in case of a accident or, whatever. Because I'm gonna tell that this time travel thing we invented is...leaving me in doubt about the success. But that's the thing of the hero. Part of the journey is the end. Oh, who am I jokin? I _know_ everything will go fine, and we will win!...I love you 3,000._"

After listening to this emotive message, meant to be NiGHTS' last one, the people closest to her attended her "funeral" (she would never be able to wake up after sustaining the raw power of the Infinity Stones, despite being one of the strongest Nightmarens), along with many heroes and people that were close in varied levels to her, but still mourned her equally. Even Preston attended it, and not just for the respect of his daughter.

All of them watched in silent, as NiGHTS, now inside a transparent crystal, got transported back to Nightopia, to eternally sleep. Ironic, due to her nature. Shortly afterwards, Tom and Amy stood together, in the riverside of the place choosen to do the funeral.

"You know...I wish we could wake her up her now, and let her know.", Tom quietly said, before staring at Amy directly in the eyes. "We won."

"She knows...we both know that.", Amy said, with some optimism, before being side-hugged by Tom.

"Hey, how you're doing, Kid?", Elliot (the kid that NiGHTS teamed up with a while ago, now a more thin teenager) asked to Zoe.

"Good.", Zoe replied, too innocent to fully absorb the sadness of the whole moment.

"Ok, so, you're hungry?"

"Mm-hmm."

"What you want?"

"Blueberries."

"You know your aunt actually loved things that looked like blueberries? I'm gonna get you all the blueberries you want.", Elliot sadly promised.

"Okay.", Zoe replied, casually.

_Later, on New Puffy..._

"So, when you will return?", Kris asked.

"Uhhh...about that...", Meta Knight said, reluctant to explain a little plan he had.

"Meta Knight, they need a leader.", Ralsei reminded.

"Actually, they already have one.", Meta Knight said with a smile.

"That's hilarious. You're actually serious?", Susie questioned.

"Yes.", Meta Knight replied. "It's time for me to be something new, instead of being the thing I always were. But you guys...are leaders for a future of light."

"You know we will change everything.", Kris said.

"I trust you...you all can have the Halberd.", Meta Knight said, respectfully bowing down, giving his prized mask to Kris, and giving a handshake of goodbye.

"But what will you do?", Ralsei asked, worried about the future of the knight.

"I have a ride.", Meta Knight confidently said.

And surely, he had. With the re-assembled Amazons of the Galaxy and Frisk, who now had the self-put mission of tracking down the past Chara, who managed to build a body of her own and escape in the aftermath of the big battle. And he still caught the attention of everyone, much to Kebako's misfortune, even if he denied it.

_Meanwhile, in unknown woods..._

"Remember...put the stones back, exactly when they were stolen.", Star informed; she was in a part of the woods, along with Sonic, Lapis and Bismuth. "Or eles we gotta face like, thousands of bad alternate universes."

"Don't worry, Star.", Sonic assured. "Just try to fix things."

"I tried, you know. I really tried to fix her gem with the strongest gems in the universe.", Star sadly said. "Man, I miss them all..."

"Me too..."

"I wanna come with you.", Lapis intervined.

"You're a great ally, Lapis. But that's something I gotta do alone.", Sonic replied, before walking to Bismuth. "Don't do anything wacky until I go home."

"How I'm gonna do that? You'll take all the wacky with you soon.", Bismuth sadly said, before sharing a bone-breaking hug with her smaller blue friend. "I'll miss you when that happens, Buddy."

"All will be fine, Bis.", Sonic softly said, before wearing the Dream Tunnel travelling suit.

"How long he'll take?", Lapis asked.

"For us, only a little while. For him, it's gonna be a bigger while.", Star resumed, as Sonic picked up the Galaxia from 2013. "Ready Sonic? 'kay. We'll meet you here, okay?"

"You can be sure.", Sonic affirmed.

"Three, two, one...", Star counted down, right as Sonic disappeared into the portal. "And returning in five...four...three...two...one..."

Although worried for a while that Sonic _wouldn't_ appear, Star and Lapis gasped in relief when Sonic popped out of the Dream Tunnel, safe and sound after putting everything onto their respective timelines. But Bismuth mildly looked grim. Soon, Star and Lapis understood why.

"So, you know Amy?", Sonic began. "I...will do something NiGHTS suggested alot when she was still in-game...settle for a life. Even I can't believe I gotta say this, but maybe I'm getting too old to speed through the world, classic style."

"I'm seriously happy for you too...but...", Lapis said, her smile breaking down into a sad frown. "But I can't believe I have to live in a world without the fastest thing alive to follow."

"...hey!", Sonic said, a new idea popping up in his head, as he pulled out his un-wore pair of Speed Shoes and offered them to Lapis. "Try it."

Although she really wanted to pull the excuse of 'won't pull that on my physical body', Lapis reluctantly agreed, and wore the red shoes over her sandals.

"How does it feel?", Sonic asked.

"Like...it's not for me.", Lapis confessed.

"But it is yours."

"...thank you. I promise I'll be better.", Lapis said, with teary eyes, as she shook hands with a now-retired soldier. "Good luck with the new life..."

_**THE END**_


End file.
